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LECTURES 

ON THE 

WHOLE BOOK OF RUTH: 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 

DISCOURSES 

ON THE 

CONDITION AND DUTY OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS, 

ON THE 

SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE IN THE CONVER- 
SION OF SINNERS, 

And, on the 

MEANS TO BE USED IN THE CONVERSION 
OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 



BY THE REV. GEORGE LAWSON, 

it 

MINISTERS OF THE ASSOCIATE CONGREGATION IN SELKIRK. 



EDINBURGH : i 

PRINTED BY J. RITCHIE, 

for ogle 8c airman, parliament square ; m. ogle, 

Wilson's street, Glasgow ; r.ogle, turnstile, 

and williams &c smith, stationers 

court. london. 

1805. 



■3SV3V5 



77 

CONTENTS. 



HISTORY OF RUTH. 
Introduction, - - Pag. v 

Lecture I. 
Chap. i. 1,-5. - - 1 

Lecture II. 

Chap. i. 6j — 10. Naomi's return to her own 
country, - - 17 

Lecture III. 
Chap. i. 11, — 15. The fame fubjeft continued, 30 

Lecture IV. 
Chap. i. 16, — 18. Ruth's fteadinefs to her re- 
ligious profeflion, 45 

Lecture V. 
Chap.i. 19, — 22. Ruth's arrival with Naomi 
at Bethlehem, - - 57 

Lecture VI. 
Chap. ii. 1, — 4. Ruth goes to glean, and meets 
with Boaz, - 72 

Lecture Vlf. 
Chap. ii. 5, — 14. 88 

Lecture VIII. 
Chap. ii. 15, — 23. - - 107 

Leg- 



IV CONTENTS. 

Lecture IX. 

Chap. iii. I, — 9. Ruth, at the inftigation of 
Naomi, lays herfelf down at the feet of 
Boaz, and requefts him to caft his feirt over 
hep, - - Pag, 12& 

Lecture X. 

Chap. iii. 10, — 18. Boaz promifesto Ruth to 
marry her, if her hufband's neareft kinfman 
did not infift upon his prior right. He dif- 
mhTes her with a prefent to her mother-in- 
law, who exprenes great fatisfa&ion with 
her kind reception, - - 140 

Lecture XI. 

Chap. iv. 1, — 10. Boaz, in the prefence of tea 
elders of Bethlehem, procures the confent of 
Ruth's neareft kinfman to his marriage with 
her, - - . 151 

Lecture XII. 

Chap. iv. 10, — 22. Ruth's marriage, and the 
birth of Obed, - - 174 



A Discourse on the Condition and Duty of 
Unconverted Sinners, - - 195 

Discourses on the Sovereignty of Grace in 
the Converfion of Sinners^ - 289 

Discourses on the Means to be ufed for the 
Convernon of our Neighbours, - 367 

INTRO- 



INTRODUCTION. 






X he defign of this book, fay fome, is to give us 
the genealogy of David. This certainly could not 
be the chief defign either of Samuel, who is gene- 
rally fuppofed to be the writer of it, or of the Spi- 
rit of God, in giving us this hiftory. The genealo- 
gy of David from Judah is contained in very few 
verfes, and we find it in feveral other parts of Scrip- 
ture. Every part of the book affords rich enter- 
tainment and ufeful inftruclion. 

What would we give for a piece of family hifto- 
ry, equally ancient and authentic, of any of our own 
nation, or rather that nation, whatever it was, from 
whence we have derived our origin ? The holy Bi- 
ble was not written to gratify our curiofity, and yet 
what book was ever written that can equally gratify 
laudable curiofity about the occurrences and manners 
of former ages ? 

This book is one of thofe which were written by 
infpiration of God, and muft therefore be exceed- 
ingly profitable to us, if we read it with a due atten- 
tion to thofe infbucrions which it is defigned to im- 
prefs on our minds. It is not one of thofe books in 
which we are to look for new inftrucrions. The 
religion recommended in it is that which had been 
a 3 already 



VI INTRODUCTION'. 

already taught by Mofes ; but it imprefles deeply 
upon the mind of the attentive reader many truths 
highly conducive to holinefs, and to the happinefs 
even of the prefent life. 

We find in this book, that private families are as 
much the objects of divine regard as the houfes of 
princes. The facred writers that give us the hiftory 
of Saul and David, give us likewife the hiftory of 
Naomi and Ruth. What are the rich and great 
more than the mean and indigent, before God? The 
greater part of the kings and princes that reigned 
three thoufand years ago are now utterly forgotten ;- 
but the names of Boaz and Ruth fhall live whilft 
the world lafts. It is to be hoped that many other 
precious faints lived in theie ancient times, whofe 
names are now not heard of in this world. But the 
fame God who caufed the names of fome to be re- 
corded in that book of life which he hath given us 
for our inflruclion, hath recorded the names of all 
of them in another book of life, to be opened and 
read, at the confummation of all things, in the ears 
of all mankind. 

That in this life we mail expecl changes, is ano- 
ther of the truths of which this book reminds us. 
** Changes and war are againft me," faid one of the 
bell men of ancient times. Naomi, one of the befl 
of women, met with fuch viciffitudes, that fhe wifh- 
ed to have her name changed into Marah. We all 
know that we are conftantly expofed to changes, and 
yet we all need to be put in mind of it. One great 
part of our unhappinefs is, that we forget the mu- 
tability of our prefent condition ; and therefore, 

when 



INTRODUCTION. VII 

when trouble comes upon us, we behave as if fome 
Grange thing happened to us. 

But a leffon more ufeful and more pleafant is im- 
preffed upon our minds by this book — that God 
does not forfake thofe who trull in him at the time 
when they are vifited with the bittereft afflictions. 
a I will be with him in trouble, to deliver him." 
The hiftory before us is a comment on this promife. 
Many were the afflictions of Ruth and Naomi ; but 
the Lord delivered them out of them all, and, ac- 
cording to the days wherein he had afflicted them, 
he made them glad. 

But what diftinguifh.es this book from other fa- 
cred books is, the charming picture it gives us of 
domeftic felicity in the loweft rank of life, and in 
perfons deprived of thofe friends to whom men or 
women ufe to look for felicity. Naomi was berea- 
ved, by the king of terrors, of her hufband and of 
all her children. Ruth was bereaved of the huf- 
band of her youth,, and was left childlefs. They 
both felt their griefs like women of tender fenfibili- 
ty ; yet they were neither difcontented nor unhap- 
py. There were three things which contributed to 
preferve them from finking into defpondency, and 
that rendered them happier under their afflictions 
than many other perfons find themfelves in the mod 
profperous circumflances. 

Firft, Their piety. They trailed in God. Na- 
omi doubtlefs had taught Ruth the knowledge of 
the God of Ifrael before (he brought her into the 
land of Ifrael ; for " fhe came," as Boaz fays, " to 
truft under his wings," Ruth it. 12.. In the low 
circumflances of both thefe women, they hoped in 

God, 



VIU INTRODUCTION. 

God, they fubmitted to his providence ; and they 
could not be miferable in any iituation in which his 
providence placed them. 

Secondly, They loved one another with a fond 
affection ; and where there is true love there will 
be pleafure, where there is mutual love there wilL 
be happinefs. 

Thirdly, Their behaviour towards one another 
was a continual expremon of their mutual love. 
There were none of thofe brawlings, unkind reflec- 
tions, and fits of fullermefs, amongil them that 
often embitter domeftic life. Naomi never com-- 
plained of too little refpect from Ruth, never exer- 
cifed her authority with bitternefs, never diftrefled 
her daughter-in-law with peevifh complaints of the 
afflictions of her former life, or of neglect from her 
kinfman, or of her other friends- The law of 
kindnefs was in her mouth, and it was evident frcm 
every part of her conduct, that fhe fet as high a va- 
lue on Ruth's happinefs as on her own. Ruth, on 
her fide, confidered the defires of her mother-in law 
as commands which fhe w^as happy to obey, and did 
every thing in her power to compenfate to her the' 
lofs of her hufband and her fons. So wife and af- 
fectionate was her behaviour, that the townfmen 
thought her better to Naomi than feven fons. 

Our natural tempers will have much influence to 
make our lives happy or miferable. If they are 
happy, they will difpofe us to be cheerful, and to. 
promote cheerfulnefs in others. If they are unhap- 
py, the bad effect of them will be felt by our neigh- 
bours, efpecially by thofe who are under the fame 
roof with us. But we are rational creatures, capa- 
ble 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

ble of inftru£Hon and of reflection. We are all de- 
firous of happinefs j and, if we find any thing in 
ourfelves that makes it impoffible to attain happi- 
nefs, is it not our wifdom to put it far from us ? 
Why fhould a difeafe be fuffered to embitter our 
days and endanger our lives, if a remedy can be 
found ? 

And does not the Scripture furnifh us with reme- 
dies for every diftemper of our hearts ? The words 
of God are healing words. The entrance of them 
gives light to the underftanding,. peace and purity to 
the heart. The naturally bad tempers of men muft 
be changed where they produce their proper effect. 
The wolf and the lamb, the lion and the cow, are 
made to feed together where the gofpel is received 
by faith. It muft be confeffed, that veftiges of our 
corrupt difpofitions will ftill continue to blemifli our 
conduct till the body of fin be deftroyed ; but, be- 
holding as in a glafs the glory of the Lord, we are 
changed, into the fame image from glory to glory. 
Nor are the virtues of the ancient faints without 
their effect upon the attentive reader of the Bible. 
Although Paul never ceafes to call upon us to look 
to Jefus as the author and finifher of our faith, yet 
he frequently puts us in mind likewife of the ad- 
vantage we may derive from a due attention to the 
virtues and graces which appeared in thofe that 
have gone before us to heaven. As we all ought 
to walk in the fteps^of the faith of our father Abra- 
ham, all women, as the apoftle Peter tells us, are 
bound to imitate Sarah in obedience to their huf- 
bands, and in meeknefs and goodnefs of fpirit. Na- 
omi and Ruth were two of thofe holy women, who, 

he 



X INTRODUCTION. 

he fays, adorned themfelves, as all women ought to 
do, with that ornament of a meek and quiet fpirit, 
which is, in the fight of God, of great price. 

You are charmed with the lovely beauties of do- 
meftic harmony and affection which adorned thefe 
good women. You praife them. You woald be 
glad to fee mothers and daughters by blood or affi- 
nity, huibands and wives, miftrefies and maid-fer- 
vants, living together in amity, and contributing, as 
they did, to one another's felicity. Why then do 
you not imitate them ? Are your tempers fo incura- 
ble, that there is no poffibility of perfuading you to 
prefer the glory of God and your own happinefs^ 
to the gratification of humours and paflions which 
appear to yourfelves deteitable ? 

Read this hiliory, not to gratify your curiolity, 
but to improve your hearts. Remember that you 
are bound, by the authority of God, to imitate the 
meeknefs and gentlenefs of Chrift and of his faints. 
The grace revealed in the gofpel teaches us to deny 
every luft of the flefti and of the mind, and to prac- 
tife every lovely virtue. The power of the Holy 
Spirit can fubdue our rough tempers, and beautify 
us with thofe graces of holinefs by which the gof- 
pel of Chrift is adorned, and his own word is the 
great mean which he ufes for fulfilling in us the 
good pleafure of the divine goodnefs. Not only 
faith, but every fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, 
long- fuffering, gentlenefs,. goodnefs, meeknefs, tem- 
perance, are produced through the word of truth ; 
and the fhort hiftory of Ruth, is as really a part of 
the word of truth, as thofe books which give us the 
hiftorv of our Lord's life and death. 

The 



INTROBUCTION". IX 

The female fex may likewife learn from this 
"book a leflbn of great ufe to them — how they may 
preferve their beauty, and make themfelves amiable 
in old age. It is the glory of thofe trees of righte- 
oufnefs which are planted in the houfe of the Lord, 
to bring forth fruit in old age. It is the privilege of 
thofe women who are adorned with the beauties of 
holinefs, that old age does not wither, but improves 
their beauties. Sarah's face was fo lovely at ninety 
years of age, that her chaftity was brought into 
danger at the court of Gerar. The daughters of 
Sarah, in the moil advanced period of their lives, 
poffefs beauties more charming, and lefs dangerous. 
Naomi was not lefs lovely than Ruth, and, had 
Elimelech been alive, fhe would have been as dear 
to him. when fhe was approaching to the grave, as 
in the day when he firfl received her into his 
arms. 

The male fex, as well as the female, may derive 
ufeful inftru&ion from this book. Confider Boaz 
as a mailer, as a friend, as a neighbour, as a man of 
confequence and wealth, as an honeft man. In all 
thefe refpe&s, you will find him worthy of efleem 
and imitation. 

If young and old, rich and poor, mailers and fer- 
vants, do not find ufeful inftru&ion in this book, 
the fault is their own. It is ealily underflood, and 
fcarcely needs a comment for explication. But it 
may be ufeful to nave fome of thofe practical in- 
ilruftions which it contains fet before us, that we 
may be aflifted in meditating upon this part of the 
word of God. It was doubtlefs one of thofe books 
of Scripture in which David found fuch delightful 

and 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 






and nouriftiing food to his foul. O that the holy 
Spirit, who wrought fo powerfully in the heart of 
that blefled man, would work in us the fame tem- 
per. Then we would find a feafl for our fouls in 
every portion of Scripture. Our days would be a 
continual feftival, becaufe we could always find food 
ready at hand, more delightful to our tafte than ho- 
ney from the comb* 



THE 



THE 



HISTORY 



OF 



RUTH. 



LECTURE I. 

Chap. i. l, — 5. 



JL he intention of this hiftory, according to fome f 
is, to trace the genealogy of David from Sal- 
mon, the fon of Nahfhon, prince of the children of 
Judah, at the death of Mofes. But this part of the 
genealogy of David and of Chrift, could have been 
given us without writing a whole book. It is given 
us in not more than two verfes by the writer of the 
firft book of Chronicles, I Chron.ii. 11, 12. 15. and 
in little more than one by Matthew, ch. i. 5, 6. 

The reading of the book is fufficient to convince us, 
that it was written to furnifli us with the moll ufe- 
ful inftructions in righteoufnefs. It gives us a beau- 
tiful picture of female virtue, firft mining in the 
midft of poverty, and then crowned with felicity. 
Let all women read this book, and learn thofe vir« 
tues which will adorn them with honour and beau- 
A ty. 



2 THE HISTORY * [Led. 1. 

ty. Let poor and afflicted women read this book, 
and learn to bear their troubles with a becoming 
fenfe of the divine agency in their trials, with pa- 
tience, with meeknefs, with all thofe gracious tem- 
pers which will endear them to their friends, and 
furnifh them with agreeable reflections at the end of 
their diftrefTes. 

But why mould we fpeak- at prefent of all thefe 
precious advantages which may be gained from this 
book ? Every part of it is rich in inftruclion, and 
the inftru&ion is conveyed to us in a ftory, which 
never failed to intereft any reader, who was not ut- 
terly deilitute of human fenfibilities. 

Ver. 1. — Now it came to pafs, in the days when 
the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land : 
and a certain man of Bethlehem-fudah went to fo- 
journ in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and 
his two fons. 

We are not told the precife time of the ftory re- 
corded in this book. And why mould we be foli- 
citous to know what God has not put it in our 
power to know ? One thing appears certain, that 
Ruth became the wife of a fon of Rahab the har- 
lot, who was famous for her faith and her works in 
the time of Jofhua. But we have reafon likewife 
to believe that Boaz, the fon of Rahab, was a very 
old man when he married Ruth, for he was the 
grandfather of JeiTe, the father of David. Be- 
tween the entrance of Jofhua into Canaan, and the 
birth of David, there intervened three hundred and 
lixty-fix years, which are to be divided arnongfl four 
progenitors of that illuftrious prince. 

Now it came to pafs in the time of the judges 

who 



(Gh. i. 1, — 5. "J OF RUTH. 3 

who ruled Ifrael, that is, in the time when Tfrael 
was not under regal government, but after the days 
of Joihua. The expreffion does not necefiarily im- 
ply that a judge ruled at the time when Elimelech 
went into the country of Moab. It was a famine 
that drove him from his own country, and famines, 
with other public calamities, were moil frequent in 
the intervals of the government of the judges. 

There was a famine in the land. The land of If- 
rael was a land of milk and honey, the pleafant 
land which God had chofen for his people Ifrael ; 
and yet we often read of famines in this land. Think 
not that the fertility of a land is able to fecure its 
inhabitants againft famine, or that any earthly ad- 
vantage is fufficient to fecure us againft any calami- 
ty whatfoever. All things are in the hand of God, 
and his creatures change their qualities or efFecls at 
his pleafure. Without him, we mould die of hun- 
ger amidfl plenty, we mould be miferable amidfl all 
poflible means of happinefs. But, through the kind- 
nefs of his providence, many have been well fatis- 
fied in the days of famine, or in a wafte howling 
wildernefs. 

But why does God fend a famine on the land 
which he had chofen for his own people ; upon the 
feed of Abraham, whom God had called out of the 
land of the Chaldees, to give this fertile land to his 
feed ? There is no reafon to doubt that this famine 
was well deferved by the fins of the people ; for the 
Lord had promifed, that as long as they walked in 
his law, they mould enjoy his blefling on their land, 
on their baiket, and on their ftore. But he had 
threatened famine, and many other calamities, as 

the 



4 THE HISTORY [Led. I. 

the juft reward of their deeds if they fhould apofia- 
tize from him. 

We have never felt famine, although we have 
well deferved it. We have indeed felt fcarcity, and 
itood in fear of famine. But the Lord hath hither- 
to dealt wondroufly with us, in f applying us with 
the necefTaries, and many of us with the comforts of 
life. Let us blefs God who hath hitherto preferved 
us from this terrible judgment. Let us be deeply 
fenfible, that, whatever we may want of the good 
things of this life, we have much more than we de- 
ferve. In days of fcarcity, let us call to mind thofe 
famines in which the fufferers would have thought 
themfelves happy as kings, if they could have been 
fupplied but once in two or three days with that 
bread which we eat every day of our life. 

And a certain man of Bethlehem- c Judah went to 
fojourn in the country of Moab. The Jews often 
gave names to perfons, or places, expreflive of fome- 
thing that was true concerning them. Bethlehem, 
which fignines the " houfe of bread," feems to have 
been a place famous, even in the pleafant land, for 
its fertility. Yet even in this fruitful diftrid of a 
fruitful country, famine prevailed to fuch a degree, 
that one of its proprietors was compelled, by the 
want of bread, to leave it, and feek food in a fo- 
reign country. We may reafonably conjecture, 
from the behaviour of Naomi, that her hufband was 
a fearer of God. And yet he is forced to feek bread 
in the land of Moab, where his God was unknown. 
Men are commonly attached to their native foil ; 
but none among us are fo much attached to our na- 
tive country, as the ancient Ifraelites were to theirs, 

thofe 



Ch. i. 1,-5.] OF RUTH. 5 

thofe of them efpecially who were lovers of the re- 
ligion and of the God of their fathers. There is a 
great difference between a Scotfman going to Ame- 
rica, and an Ifraelite going to dwell in the land of 
Moab. In many places of America, our God and 
our Saviour is as well known as amongft ourfelves. 
Should you want bread at home, you would not ac- 
count it a very great hardfhip to go to a itrange land, 
where you might find bread to your bodies, and at 
the fame time find provifion for your fouls. But 
you would almoit periih with hunger rather than go 
to live among the Turks ; and yet the Turks are 
not fo great enemies to the name of Chrift, as the 
Moabites were to the name of the God of I&aeL 

Some blame this Ephrathite for going to fojourn 
in the land of Moab. Why (fay they) did he not 
rather bear all the hardships of famine, as well as 
his neighbours, rather than go to dwell amongft hea- 
thens, amongft fuch heathens as the Moabites, of 
whom the Lord had faid, " Even to their tenth ge- 
neration, they lhall not enter into the congregation 
of the Lord for ever. Thou lhalt not feek their 
peace nor their profperity all thy days for ever ?" 

It is not neceffary to enquire, nor is it perhaps 
poffible to determine wiih certainty, whether this 
Bethlehemite did right or wrong in going to fojourn 
in the land of Moab. Yet no man ought to be 
condemned, whether dead or alive, without proofs 
of guilt ; and no certain proofs of guilt appear in 
the prefent cafe. Undoubtedly, the people of God 
were commanded not to mingle themfelves with the 
heathens, left they fhould learn their ways ; buj: 
they were not abfolutely prohibited to fojourn in a 
A 3 Itrange 



6 THE HISTORY [LeSt. !• 

ftrange land. When imperious neceffity forced Da- 
vid to dwell in the tents of Kedar, or in the city of 
Gath, or Ziklag, he was to be pitied rather than 
blamed. 

The children of Ifrael were forbidden to do any 
fervile work on the Sabbath day, and yet when the 
difciples were accufed for rubbing the ears of corn 
to prepare them for food on that day, our Lord jus- 
tified their conduct on the ground of neceffity, and 
fiienced his enemies by producing the example of 
David, whom thefe hypocrites themfelves did not 
blame for eating, when hunger compelled him, that 
fhew-bread which it was lawful for the priefls only, 
in ordinary cafes, to eat. And have we not read 
what David did in another cafe, how he fent his fa- 
ther and mother to the king of Moab, to dwell with 
him, till he knew what God would do for him ? 

It is not certain that none but this Bethlehemite 
went at this time to fojourn in Moab. We read of 
jfraelites that dwelt in Moab, and attained high fta- 
tions in it, although w T e cannot tell at what period, 
1 Chron.iv. 22, 23. Nor can we tell what connec- 
tions might be formed amongft individuals of Ifrael 
and of Moab, when both nations were under one 
lord, Judges iii. If Naomi's family were like 
herfelf, they could not but conciliate the regard and 
love of all that knew them, whether Moabites or 
Ifra elites. A fweet temper difarms the fiercenefs 
of favages, 

It feems probable that this family lived under, or 
near the time of Ehud's adminiftration, although we 
cannot certainly tell why they chofe rather to go to 
the land of Moab than to any other country. One 

thing 



Ch. i. 1, — 5.] OF RUTH. T 

thing is evident, that there was plenty of bread, and 
to fpare, in the land of Moab, when little was to be 
had in the land of Ifrael. What fhall we fay to 
this ? Were the Ifraelites greater finners than the 
Moabites ? or were they lefs favoured by that God 
who caufeth the com to grow up out of the earth ? 
Neither of thefe conclufions would be juft. The 
Moabites were great finners, for they were apoftates 
from the religion of their father Lot, and worfhip- 
pers of Chemofh. But God then fuffered all na- 
tions to walk in their own way, except his chofen 
people. Them only he knew of all the families of 
the earth, therefore he punifhed them for their ini- 
quities. Becaufe God was gracious to them, he 
would "net fuffer them to walk in their own ways, 
that he might turn them again to himfelf. 

Many times was Ifrael afflidted by various calami- 
ties, but " Moab was at eafe from his youth." Was 
Moab then happier than Ifrael ? No, in no wife. 
He was miferable, " He was at eafe from his youth, 
and he fettled on his lees, neither did he go into 
captivity ; therefore his tafle remained in him, and 
his fcent was not changed. Therefore, behold the 
days came at laft, that the Lord fent wanderers that 
caufed him to wander, and emptied his veflels, and 
brake his bottles." Elimelech went to fojourn in 
the country of Moab, not to dwell there longer than 
neceffity compelled him. He chofe rather to dwell 
in the Lord's land than any where elfe ; but who 
-can endure the rage of hunger ? We cannot always 
dwell where we wifh, but if at any time we are for- 
ced to fojourn at a diftance from the place where 
God's name is known and preached, our hearts 

ought 



8 THE HISTORY [Left. 1. 

ought to be left in the fanftuary. David was 
fometimes compelled to fojourn in the tents of Ke- 
dar, but he ever loved the habitation of God's houfe* 
and his heart was poured out within him when he 
thought of the pleafures of the fancluary. 

He, and bis wife, and bis two Jons, It is pofiible 
that if he had wanted a family, he might have been 
able to live at home. In times of extreme fcarcity, 
a family may be as a heavy burden upon the minds 
of the poor, who know not how to fatisfy the ap- 
petites of their little ones, and cannot open their un- 
derftandings to make them fenfible of the neceffity 
of wanting what cannot be had. Our Lord fpeaks 
of times when it is miferable to be with child or to 
give fuck ; and Paul tells married perfons, that they 
ought, in times of diftrefs, to look for troubles m 
the fleih. Beware, however, of dinatisfaclion with 
the providence of God, which has given you fami- 
lies. Amidft all the anxiety that you feel about 
the means of their fubliftence, would you be willing 
to lofe any of them ? Would you not rather rife 
early and fit up late, and eat the bread of farrow, 
in labouring for their fubiiftence ? 

The man's wife, with his two fons, went with 
him. We are not told whether Naomi was willing 
to go to a ftrange land, but we have reafon to be- 
lieve that fhe was willingly obedient to her hufbancL 
She was one of thofe wives whofe law is their huf- 
band's will in all things wherein the laws of God 
leave them at liberty. Thefe are the women who 
are qualified to give and to receive happinefs in the 
married ftate. But thofe men are brutes, rather than 
hufbands, who put the temper of fuch wives to a 

fevere 



Ch. i. 1,-5.] OF RUTH. 9 

fevere trial, when irreliftible neceflity does not com- 
pel them. It was neceflity that compelled the 
Eethlehemite to remove his family to the land of 
Moab. His wife faw the neceflity of the cafe, and 
therefore ihe did not think of returning, when me 
was become her own miftrefs, till the neceflity was 
removed. 

Ver. 2 — And the name of the man was Elime- 
hch, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names 
of his two fons Mahlon and Chilton, Ephrathites of 
Bethlehem-fudah. And they came into the country 
of Moab, and continued there. 

The mention of the names of the father, mother 
and fons, gives aa air of truth to the narration, and 
tends to intereft us in their fortunes. When we 
know the names of perfons, we feem to ourfelves to 
be in fome degree acquainted with them, and there- 
fore when we hear of any remarkable event befal- 
ling any perfon, we wifh to know his name, al- 
though we can have no opportunity of ever feeing 
him. 

We are not told of what lineage this family was, 
but we learn afterwards that they were nearly rela- 
ted to the noblefl of the families of Judah. Chi- 
lion and Mahlon were almoft the nearefl of the 
kinfmen of Boaz, who was the fon of Salmon, the 
fon of Nahihon, prince of the tribe of Judah in the 
days of Mofes. Greatnefs will fecure no families 
from poverty and want. Many who once rode in 
their own chariots, have been compelled to fubfiil 
on the bounty of others. 

The family were Ephrathites of Bethlehem- Ju- 
dah. Bethlehem was not the leaft among the cities 

of 



10 THE HISTORY [Left. 1. 

of Judah. It was the city of Boaz, the city of Da- 
vid, the city out of which came forth to God that 
Ruler of Ifrael, whofe goings forth were of old from 
everlailing. What city ever deferved fo well to be 
renowned, except Jerufalem, where God long dwelt, 
where Jefus himfelf preached, and from whence his 
word of grace went forth to the nations ? 

Arid they were in the country of Moab, and conti- 
nued there. In the former verfe, we are told that 
they went to fojourn in the country of Moab. They 
fet out from their own country with a defign to fo- 
journ in the land of Moab. Here we learn that 
they actually accomplifhed their purpofe of going 
into the country of Moab, and there they continued 
longer perhaps than they wifhed or intended. They 
hoped that in a year or two they might find it con- 
venient to return to the land of Ifrael. When we 
go from home, it depends . entirely on the will of 
God whether we ihall arrive at the place of our def- 
tination. When we are in it, it depends no lefs on 
the divine pleafure whether we mail ever again fee 
the place from which we went out. u A man's heart 
devifeth his way, but the Lord directeth his iteps." 
Beware.of bringing upon yourfelves the punifhment 
that came upon the proud king of Babylon, becaufe 
he did not glorify that God in whofe hand his breath 
was, and whofe were all his ways. Do you fay, 
that to-morrow you will go into fuch a city, and buy, 
and fell, and get gain ? Say rather, If the Lord will, 
we ihall live, and go into that city. In him you 
live, in him you move, in him you have your be- 
ing. 

Ver 8 



Ch.i. 1, — 5.] OF RUTH. 11 

Ver. 3. — And Elimelech^ Naomi* s hiifband 9 died, 
andjhe was lefty and her two fons. 

44 What is our life ? It is a vapour which appeareth 
only for a little while, and then vanifheth away." 
Elimelech went only to fojourn in the country of 
Moab ; but the fame reafons which compelled him 
to go to that land, compelled him to continue in it, 
till a flronger neceffity compelled him to go the way 
whence he was never to return. Amidft all your 
trials, remember that the greateft of all trials is ap- 
proaching, and perhaps nearer than you imagine. 
Do you fear that you fhall want bread in times of 
fcarcity ? Perhaps before they are at an end your 
lives may end. Are you obliged to leave your native 
fields ? The time is faft approaching when you mufl 
leave the world. Why mould dying creatures be 
perplexed about things that they may never need, 
and at moil cannot enjoy long ? Death will foon le- 
vel the diftinclion between the moil affluent and the 
mod indigent of the fons of men ; and, therefore, 
let the rich enjoy their portion in this world with- 
out abufing it, or placing their confidence in what 
mufl be theirs but a very fhort time. And let not 
the poor be greatly dejecled by the want of what 
they cannot long need. If we can procure but food 
and raiment, let us therewith be content ; for we 
brought nothing into the world with us, and it is 
certain that we can carry nothing hence. 

And Jhe was left, and her two fons. It was no 
doubt a grief to Elimelech, if he felt the approaches 
of death, to leave his wife, and his two young fons, 
iq a ftrange land, in a land of heathens, poor, and, 
for aught we know, almoll friendlefs. When you 

chufe 



12 THE HISTORY [Left. 1. 

chufe your place of abode, if you have families, or 
may have families, let this be one principal consider- 
ation, where you will leave them if God mould call 
you out of the world. What cheerlefs profpe&s 
muil prefent themfelves to the view of a good man 
leaving a young family in the midft of neighbours 
that have never heard of the grace of God, or ne- 
ver paid any regard to what they have heard ! 

She was left of her hufband with two fons. How 
much was this good woman to be pitied ! She was 
left in a ftate of indigence. Her fons, very proba- 
bly, were come to that time of life in which they 
might be of fome ufe to her ; but ihe had loft that 
friend in whom her hope refted for the fupport and 
government of her family, in its dinrened and dan- 
gerous condition. I call its condition dangerous, 
not becaufe they were in a country of enemies to 
their nation, although the Moabites were feldom the 
friends of Ifrael, but becaufe they dwelt in a land 
devoted to the worfhip of Chemofh. Without the 
comforts of religion, Naomi's heart muft have died 
within her ; yet in a fhort time afterwards, the Lord 
added new affliction to her former griefs. 

Ver. 4. — And they took them wives of the women 
of Moab ; the name of the one was Orpah, and the 
name of the other Ruth, and they dwelt there about 
ten years. 

Many blame thefe young men for marrying 
wives of the daughters of Moab ; and certainly 
they were much to be blamed for marrying them, if 
they had not credible evidence that thefe young wo- 
men were convinced of the folly of worihipping Che- 
mofh, and cordially difpofed to join with their huf- 

bands 



Ch. i. 1, — 5.] OF RUTH. IS 

bands in the worfhip of the God of Tfrael. When 
Ezra was informed that the holy feed had mingled 
themfelves with the Moabites, and with other idola- 
trous nations, by marrying their daughters, he was 
filled with almoft inconfolable grief. Nothing but 
the expulfion of the ftrange wives could difpel his 
anxious apprehenlions of the wrath of God, merit- 
ed by the conjunction of the men of Ifrael with the 
people of thefe abominations. 

If Chilion and Mahlon had good reafon to think 
that their intended wives were iincere profelytes to 
their religion, they deferve no blame, but rather 
praife. But whether they were juftifiable or ex- 
cufable, or neither the one nor the other, it is perhaps 
impomble for any man to determine, becaufe we 
have not fufficient knowledge of the circumflances 
of the cafe. Certain it is, that Salmon did well in. 
marrying Rahab, who belonged to a worfe race of 
people than the Moabites, for me renounced the 
idols and abominations of her country, and fhewed 
her faith in the God of Ifrael by her works. Per- 
haps the example of Salmon, to whom this family 
was related, induced them to venture upon this alli- 
ance with flrangers. But why mould we pronounce 
a fentence againft any man, when we are neither 
called to be his judges, nor fumiihed with means for 
judging ? 

This we know with certainty, that whether Elt- 
melech did right or wrong in going with his family 
into the land of Moab, which led the way to their 
marriages, and whether the fons of Elimelech did 
right or wrong in contracting thefe marriages, the 
providence of God, by what it did, was accompllm- 
B ing 



14 THE HISTORY [Left. I. 

ing its own gracious purpofes. Ruth was one of 
God's cleft. She was to be brought to the know- 
ledge and love of the truth by her connection with 
the family of Elimelech. The happinefs which 
ihe gained, was a good compenfation for all the dif- 
treffes which this family had endured, for all that 
the land of Ifrael had fufTered by a ten years' famine. 
Little did the pious remnant in Ifrael know, when 
they were deploring the miferies of the poor, that 
the famine was to be fubfervient to the falvation of 
a precious foul in the land of Moab. 

They dwelt about ten years in the land of Moab. 
It feems that Naomi could not return fooner on ac- 
count of the famine. What a dreadful lcourge was 
this famine of ten years \ We need not think it 
itrange that Eliiha fent away his friend the Shuna- 
mite to fojourn in a ftrange land, when there were to 
be feven years of famine. Every year in the courfe 
of this famine mult have made a very great accef- 
iion to the miferies of the poor, or rather of the 
whole people. We find that a fecond year of dearth 
is likely to be worfe than the firft, although the 
price of provificns is not fo high, becaufe money 
is more fcarce. What would feven or ten years of 
fcarcity be, although they mould not amount to a 
famine ? BleiTed be God who has not year after 
year turned -the rain of our land into powder and 
duft ! 

Ver, 5. — And Mablon and Chilion died a/fo, 
hoth of them*, and the woman was left alone of her 
two fons and her hufband. 

Poor woman ! what will ihe now do^ bereaved of 
both her fons, after her hufband ? Might not one of 

them 



Ch. i. 1, — 5.] OF RUTH. 1$ 

them at leaft have been fpared for her comfort ? 
Let us not fpeak in this manner, left we mould feem 
to charge God with folly. God's thoughts are not 
as our thoughts. If God loved this woman, we 
think that he would have left her one or another, at 
lead, of her family, if not all of them. Yet all of 
them die, and leave her defolate in the land of Moab, 
far from all their relations that were yet left in 
Bethlehem. The love or hatred of God is not to 
be eftimated by our feelings, or by our reafonings, 
unfupported by the Bible- 
Naomi might probably think that me was one 
of the moft unhappy women in the land, when 
necemty compelled her to leave the land of If- 
rael. When fhe afterwards loft her hufband, me 
might think that then only fhe began to be mifer- 
able, and that me greatly erred when fhe thought 
herfelf unhappy before this calamity befel her. 
But when (he afterwards loft firft one and then 
smother of her fons, new thoughts would come 
into her mind. Then fhe might fuppofe that fhe 
had complained too heavily of the lofs of her huf- 
band, and was not duly thankful, to God for fparing 
her fons. Now at laft, and not before, fhe might 
think that the Lord dealt bitterly with her, and had 
made defolate all her company. When heavy cala- 
mities befal you, beware of fpeaking unadvifedly 
with your lips. Beware of gloomy and impatient 
thoughts. Say not that God has bereaved you of 
all earthly comforts, when he has reduced you to 
poverty, if your friends are preferved alive. If fome 
of your neareft friends are cut off by a ftroke, ftill 
you mull not fay that nothing is left to fweeten life, 

when 



16 THE HISTORY [Left. 1 . 

when others are left whom you love. It is prefump- 
tuous in mortals, in finful mortals, to think or talk 
as if the L©rd had forgotten to be merciful. 

Naomi's thoughts of God's dealings with her 
Upon earth are now very different from what they 
were when thefe two things came upon her, the lofs 
of children and widowhood. All thefe things ap- 
peared then to be againft her. But now fhe knows 
and fees that all thefe things were fruits of the love 
of God. Amidfl your perplexing thoughts about 
the occurrences of life, it will be profitable to con- 
fider what you will think an hundred years hence 
of thefe adverfities which now fpread fuch a difmal 
gloom upon your fpirits. Blefied are the men who 
firmly believe that God is wifer than themfelves, 
and who a£r. according to that belief by a patient 
refignation to God under every trial. They will 
fee at laft, and they believe at prefent, that all the 
paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to fuch as 
keep his covenant and his teftimonies. At lail it 
will be found, that we could not, without great lofs, 
have wanted any of thofe trials of faith which once 
were ready to overwhelm our fpirits. 



LEG- 



Ch. 1. 6, — 10.] OF RUTH- 



LECTURE II, 



naomi's return to her own country. 
Chap. i. 6,— K). 



Ver. 6. — Then Jhe arofe with her daughters-in- 
law, that jhe might return from the country. of Moah i 
for Jhe had heard in the country of Mo ah y how that 
the Lord had vijited his people in giving them bread* 

iN aomi would no doubt often fay within 
hcrfelf, Woe is me that I dwell fo long in the coun- 
try of Moab, that I fojourn year after yeaf amongfl 
the worihippers of Chemofh ! Yet ihe found her- 
felf under the ^unhappy neceffity of continuing 
among them, till me could entertain the profpecl; o£ 
being able to live in her own country. It was Da- 
vid's moil earneft defire, that he might dwell all the 
days of his life in the houfe of the Lord.; yet, more 
than once, he found it abfolutely neceflary to dwell 
amongfl heathens. But as foon as God opened to 
him the way to return to the Lord's land, he gladly 
and thankfully improved the opportunity. 

B 3 Naomi 



TS THE HISTORY [Le£t. 2. 

Naomi jnflly thought that the Lord called her 
back to Bethlehem, when fhe heard that he had vi- 
fited his people in giving them bread. She might 
now entertain rational hopes of finding the needful 
fupports of life in her own land. She could not 
hope to make the figure at Bethlehem which me did 
in the days when the candle of the Lord fhined upon 
her head, when her hufband was yet with her, when 
her children were about her, when the family eflate 
fupplied it with the means of keeping a plentiful 
table ; but ihe might hope, by the labour of her 
hands, and the kindnefs of her friends, to live in a 
manner fuited to the cireumftances in which divine 
providence had now placed her. It is not plea- 
fant to fiefh and blood to be reduced to a dependent 
condition. But humbling difpenfations of provi- 
dence ought always to be attended with a correfpon- 
dent humiliation of fpirit, unlefs we defire mifery as 
our portion, and, what is ftill worfe, to be found 
fighting againfl the Almighty. His will mull be 
done ; and, if our w r ill iland in oppofition to his, it 
mull bend or break. 

She had beard in the country of Moab, that the 
Lord had vifited his people. In the land of Gran- 
gers, Ihe was always anxious to hear what was 
parnng in the land of Ifrael. She ftill took an in- 
terell in that country for her own fake^ for her 
friends' and brethren's fake, for the Lord's fake. Al- 
though fhe was dwelling in a land well fupplied 
with bread and wine, (Ifa. xv.) yet fhe felt deeply 
for the poor Ifraelites in their own land who were 
punifhed with hunger. She mourned for the long 
-continuance of the famine, and was filled with joy 

irv 



Ch.i. 6, — 10.] OF RUTH. 19 

in the midft of her forrows, when fhe heard that the 
Lord had vifited his people in mercy. Thus Nehe- 
miah, at the court of Shufhan, was ever careful to 
be informed of what was palling in the land of Ju- 
dah. He was rich and great, and enjoyed the fa- 
vour of the greater! prince in the world ; but his 
happinefs could not be complete unlefs he heard that 
his people were happy. 

The- Lord vifited his people in giving them bread, 
* Thou vifiteft. the earth, and watereft it," fays Da- 
vid, u thou greatly enricheft it with the river of God 
which is full of water, thou prepareft them corn, 
when thou hall fo provided for it." The Pfalmift 
teaches us to confider every fertilizing mower from 
heaven, as a kind of vilitation from that God who 
keeps the clouds in his hand, and "turns them about 
by his counfels to do whatfoever he commands them 
upon the face of the world, in the earth." When 
Naomi heard that plenty was reftored in the land of 
Ifrael, ihe faw that the Lord had vifited his people, and 
brought with him a rich prefent of fuitable fupplies 
for their neceffity. She had feen, that even the land 
flowing with milk and honey could not fupply its 
inhabitants with the necefiaries of life, unlefs God 
were pleafed to " hear the heavens, that the heavens 
might hear the earth, and the earth hear the corn 
and the wine and the oil, that they might hear his 
people." 

If God, after nine years of fcarcity, mould return 
to us in mercy, and give us abundance of bread to 
eat, would we not confefs that we could never be 
fufnciently thankful to God for his undeferved boun- 
ty ? But have we not Hill greater reafon to be thank- 
ful, 



20 THE HISTORY [Le&. 2- 

fill, when fcarcity is hardly felt in one year out of 
ten ? Why mould we need cleannefs of teeth to 
make us fenfible of that bounty by which we are 
fed every day of our lives ? If you were in a de- 
pendent condition, and one of your friends mould 
fupply you once in a week with pro virions for your 
table, would you not reckon yourfelves highly in- 
debted to his goodnefs ? But w r ould it not be elleem- 
ed by you an higher act of kindnefs to make a fet- 
tled provifion for your fubfifteiice, that you might 
never want what is needful ? If rare mercies from 
God are acknowledged with thankfulnefs, (and who 
can be unthankful for them ?) what praifes are due 
to him for mercies fnowered down upon us, every 
day in our lives. 

Then Jhe arofe with her daughters- in- law , that 
Jhe might return from the country of Moal\— 

VtR. 7. — Wherefore, Jhe went forth out of the 
place where Jhe was, and her two daughters-in-law 
with her ; and they went on the way to return into 
the land of fudah. 

One of thefe young widows, we have reafon to 
think, was ftill a heathen. And yet (let many Chri- 
stians blufh !) fhe, as well as her religious fifter-in- 
law, behaves in a dutiful and refpectful manner to 
her hufband's mother. May we not fay, that the 
daughter who behaves undutifully to her mother, 
and even the daughter-in-law who is an adverfary 
to her mother-in-law, hath denied the faith, and is 
worfe than an infidel ? If your parents, by nature 
or marriage, were rich, you would treat them with 
refpect, becaufe you would hope to mare in their 
profperity j but Naomi was poor, and a Granger in 

the 



Ch. i. 6, — 10.] OF RUTH. 21 

the land of Moab, and yet her daughters-in-law- 
treated her with kindnefs while me lived near them, 
and would not iuffer her to leave the country with- 
out accompanying her in the way, and doing her all 
the fervice they could. Their hufbands were dead. 
Their relation to Naomi might feem to fome to be 
utterly diffolved ; but their love was ftrengthened 
rather than abated. And why mould it not ? Are 
we to withdraw our affe&ions from our friends be- 
caufe the Lord hath ami&ed them ? The death of 
humands or wives will not put an end to the friend- 
ship of thofe who are allied by marriage, unlefs 
there has been bad behaviour on the one fide, or an 
ungenerous fpirit on the other. That which loudly 
calls for fympathy, can never be a good reafon for 
coldnefs. 

Ver. 8. — And Naomi /aid unto her two daugh- 
ters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's houfe ; 
the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with 
the dead and with me, 

Orpah and Ruth were greatly attached to their mo- 
j ther-in-law, although their own mothers were ftill 
alive. They did not ftand in need of Naomi's 
friendmip, but fhe needed theirs. Her affli&ions 
and defolate condition endeared her fo much to them, 
i that they feemed to pay more attention to her than 
j to their own mothers ; and, on fome accounts, me 
was better entitled to their fympathy. She feems 
to have travailed in birth with them, that the pro- 
mifed Chrift might be formed in them, and proba- 
bly me was in truth the fpiritual mother of Ruth. 

Go, return each to her mother's houfe. Whether 
their fathers were {till alive, or whether their mo- 
ther'^ 



t2 THE HISTORY [Led. 2. 

trier's houf e is mentioned becaufe their intercourfe in 
the houfe of their parents would chiefly be with 
their mothers, we cannot tell. 

The Lord deal kindly with you. She bleiTes them 
when me fends them away, not in the name of Che- 
mod), but in the name of Jehovah the God of If« 
rael, and thereby insinuates, at a time which they 
could never forget, and in words which were likely 
to be often prefent to their minds, that not the gods 
of Moab, but the God of Ifrael, was the eternal 
fountain of blemngs, from whom every good and 
perfect gift was to be expecled. Our fpeech ought 
to be always feafoned with fait, but there are parti- 
cular feafons when our words ought to be ordered in 
confummate wifclom. The words of parting friends, 
who are likely never again to meet, make an im- 
premon never to be erazed. Who knows what 
good maybe done by fuch words, when they breathe 
at once the fervour of piety and of charity ? They 
are like dying words, for our friends are then dead 
to us when we fee them no more. 

The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt 
with the dead and with me. It feems thefe two wo 
men had been good wives to their hulbands, although 
their hufbands were poor men and ftrangers. If 
they had aflamed more power over their hulbands 
than they ought, they would probably have been Sup- 
ported by their relations and countrymen. But 
they always dealt kindly with them, and. endea- 
voured to render their condition in a land of Gran- 
gers comfortable and pleafant. Nature itfelf, you 
fee, teaches wives to deal kindly with their huf- 
bands, for MoabitefTes were taught by it to deal 

kindly 



Ch. 1. 6,— -10.] OF RUTH. 23 

kindly with thofe that married them. Beware, ye 
who call yourfelves Chriftians, of behaving worfe 
than women that never heard the duties of wives 
enforced by fuch powerful motives. u Submit 
yourfelves unto your hufbands as unto the Lord ; 
for the hufband is the head of the wife, even as 
Chrifl is the head of the church, and he is the Sa- 
viour of the body. Therefore, as the church is 
fubjecl unto Chrift, fo let the wives be to their own 
hufbands in every thing. " 

You know not, hufbands and wives, how long 
you may dwell together. Death may foon come, 
and will doubtlefs, fooner or later, come and tear 
away the one of you from the other. When that 
event mall take place, how will you wifh to have 
behaved ? Behave at prefent as you would then 
with to have behaved, for then you will not be able 
to bring back the prefent time. Many great mira- 
cles have been wrought by the power of God, but 
it never did, nor ever will, recalthe time that is pail. 
How comfortable was it to Orpah and Ruth to hear 
Naomi fay,_ Ye have dealt kindly with the "dead! 
And how comfortable was the reflection to them 
through life, that me had reafon to give them this 
commendation ! 

As ye have dealt with the dead and with me. 
Thefe amiable women extended their kindnefs from 
their hufbands to their mother, the only friend of 
their hufbands to whom they could mew kindnefs. 
It is commonly fuppofed, that a widow may hope 
to live amongft us more comfortably with a fon- 
in law, than with one of her own married fons. 
This obfervation often holds good, but not to our ho- 
nour. 



24 THE HISTORY [Le£t. 2. 

nour. Why mould not daughters-in-law behave 
like daughters ? If hufband and wife are one nefh, 
your hufband's father is your father, your hufband 's 
mother is your mother. Why mould Moabitefles 
behave better than many Chriftian wives, and merit 
commendations which cannot, without flattery, be 
given to thofe who have fuch fuperior advantages 
for , knowing and for praclifing their duty ? I lay- 
not this to lhame you. I know that there are fome 
to whom no reproof of this kind is due. But are 
there not others who behave lefs affectionately to 
their own mothers than Orpah and Ruth to the mo- 
ther of their hufbands ? 

And with me. When I fpeak of the unkind be- 
haviour of fome wives to the mothers of their huf- 
bands, let me give to every one her portion of re- 
proof. The blame of unkindnefs does not always 
lie on one fide. If there were more Naomis, there 
might be more Orpahs and Ruths. Naomi was dif- 
pofed to take in good part the conduct of her daugh- 
ters-in-law, and to exprefs a grateful fenfe of the at- 
tentions that were paid to her. Some old women 
look upon every initance of kindnefs from their 
daughters, or their daughters-in-law, as a debt for 
w r hich they owe them no thanks. Others are fo 
fallen, fo fufpicious, fo fretful, that there is no pof- 
fibility of pleafing them. They turn the duty of 
their children into an hard tafk, which they find it 
impoffible to perform with fatisf action to them- 
felves, becaufe it gives fo little fatisfaction to thofe 
whom they wifli to ferve. True, your children are 
bound to honour you, but they are not bound to 
comply with all your humours. They are bound 

to 



Ch. i. 6, — 10.] OE RUTH. 25 

to be the comforters of your old age ; but how can 
£hey comfort you, if you refufe to take comfort in 
all that they can do to pleafe you ? They do no 
more than their duty when they endeavour to gild 
the evening of your days by their dutiful behaviour ; 
but are you not bound to mew a grateful fenfe of 
their care to perform their duty ? You fee that Na- 
omi thanked and bleifed her daughters-in-law for 
the kindneffes which they had fhewed to herfelf, as 
well as for, their endeavours to contribute to the 
happinefs of her. fons. 

Ver. 9. — The Lord grant you that you may find 
reji each of you in the houfe of her hujband. Then 
Jhe kiffed them, and they lift up their voice and 
wept, 

Naomi did not wiih her daughters-in-law to con- 
tinue through the remaining part of their lives un- 
married. She was far from thinking that their en- 
trance a fecond time into the bond of marriage, 
would be in any degree inconfiftent with all due re- 
fpeft for the memory of their firfl hufbands.. Jf 
ever they mould again enter into this ftate of life, 
as me hoped they would do, fhe wifhed them all 
that happinefs which they might have expected to 
enjoy if the Lord had been pleafed to fpare the lives 
of her fons. 

There are feafons, . in which unmarried perfons 
and widows will act wifely if they continue as they 
are ; but there are other times, in which it is in ge- 
neral better for the younger widows, as well as un- 
married women, to marry. We cannot, indeed, fix 
a rule which will include all without exception, be- 
caufe that may be good for one which is not good 
C for 



26 THE HISTORY [Left. 2. 

for another, whofe difpofitions or circumftances re- 
quire a different conduct. .There are fome whcuerr 
by marrying when they ought not, or whom they 
ought not -to marry ; and there are others who fin 
when they,do not marry, as we learn from the diffe- 
rent advices given on this fubject by the apoftle 
Paul, 1 Cor. vii. 1 Tim. v. 

But whenever men or women marry, if they are 
wife for themfelves, they will take proper meafures 
to find fatisfa&ion in that new ftate of life ; and one 
cf the chief means to be ufed for this purpofe is 
prayer to God. The Lord grant you that each of 
you may find reft in the houfe of her hufband. " A 
prudent wife is from the Lord," and a kind hufband 
is from the Lord alfo ; and, if in any thing, furely 
in this moll important flep of life, we are to afk 
counfel from the mouth of the Lord, and to implore 
his bleuing. Let it be however remembered, that, 
if you are fincere in feeking the blefling of God 
upon this relation, you will follow the directions of 
his word in making you? choice. Have you not a 
hufband or wife at prefent ? judge for yourfelves 
whether you ought, or ought not to marry. u Marry 
whom you will, only in the Lord." Do you feek 
reft in the houfe of a hufband, or comfort with a 
wife ? remember what God fays concerning the vir- 
tuous woman, Prov. xxxi. and what he fays in many 
places of his word concerning the character of the 
men whofe conduct he approves, and to whom he 
will give his blefling, Prov. iii. 

If it is to be wifhed that wives may find reft in 
the houfes of their hufbands, it muft be the duty of 
hufbands to do what they can to procure them reft, 

not 



Ch.i. 6, — 10.] OF RUTH. 27 

not only by endeavouring to provide for them what 
is neceflary for their fubiiftence aud comfortable ac- 
commodation, but by fuch a kind behaviour as will 
promote their fatisfaction and comfort. Men and 
women may have affluence without reft, and red 
without affluence. But let women alfo contribute 
to procure reft for themfelves by frugality, by in- 
duftry, by fuch behaviour to their hufbands as will 
merit conftant returns of kindnefs. 

Then Jhe kijfid them, and they lift up their votes 
and wept. They wept becaufe they were to part, 
never again to meet, all of them, together in this 
world. They had been happy in one another, and 
one of the foreft afflictions incident to this life, is 
the everlafting feparation of th of e who were mu- 
tually dear. But why do we fay everlafting fepa- 
ration ? There is no everlafting feparation of Chri- 
ftian friends. Littles was known of what we know 
concerning the future ftate by thefe friends of whom 
we are fpeaking, and there was little ground of hope 
• that they would all meet in that ftate, if they had 
known it, for it does not appear that Orpah was 
willing to take up her crofs, and deny herfelf, to 
ferve the God of Ifrael. We that are Chriftians 
have the happinefs to know with certainty, that our 
feparation from our friends in Chrifl will not be 
eternal, though it may be long. Becaufe it may be 
long, we mourn ; becaufe it is not to be eternal, we 
do not mourn as they that have no hope. 

They lift up their voice and wept, not only at the 
thought of their long feparation, but at the recollec- 
tion which ruihed into their minds at this time, of 
many endearing, of many forrowful, of many joy- 
ful 



&B THE HISTORY [Left. 2. 

ful circumitances of their pall lives. For fuch is 
the precarious and changeable nature of worldly fe- 
licity, that even the fweeteft joys of life often make 
\*/ay for the moil piercing griefs. Our remembrance 
Of pleafures enjoyed, and to be enjoyed no more, 
Spreads a difmal gloom over thofe pleafures that we 
might yet enjoy. We cannot be made happy by a 
rich abundance of thofe things which give happi- 
nefs (fuch as the world can give) to others, becaufe 
we are bereaved of thofe things in which- we placed 
too much of our happinefs. 

This world is a place of mourning to all, but to 
fome more than others, by the afflictive changes' 
which darken many of their days. Let us all feek 
to be found in him whofe office it is to comfort all 
that mourn. Sorrow is turned into joy by him who 
is the Confolation of Ifrael. 

Ver. 10. — And they f aid unto her. Surely we will 
return with thee unto thy people. 

We have no reafon to doubt the fincerity of both 
thefe women in this extraordinary profeffion of at- 
tachment to Naomi, although one of them was ea- 
fily diverted from her purpofe. There is a great 
difference between the fame mind at different times. 
Orpah's intention of going with Naomi, included an 
intention of ferving Naomi's God, and of relinquish- 
ing the gods of Moab ; for it is not likely that fhe 
thought the would be permitted to praftife the wor- 
ihip of Chimofh in the land of IfraeL We may 
therefore obferve from this place, that you ought 
not to miflake every purpofe of being truly religious, 
as a fign of true grace. If you turn to God from 
fia, with full purpofe of, and endeavour after, new 

obedience, 



Ch. i. 6^—10."| OF RUTH. 29 

obedience, you are true penitents ; but this full pur- 
pofe is attended with habitual performance. u Bring 
forth fruits meet for repentance," if you defire to be 
efteemed true children of Abraham. If, like Or- 
pah, you promife and intend to perform, but return 
to your former courfe of life, your " goodnefs is 
like the morning cloud, and like the early dew that 
goeth away." 

Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 
They knew but very few of Naomi's people ; but, 
from her own behaviour, and the behaviour of her 
family, they judged that they were people with^ 
whom it would be happy to live. Let us all en- 
deavour fo to live, as to give ftrangers to religion 
favourable ideas of thofe who profefs it. The lewd 
conduct of nominal Chriftians has done unknown 
mifchief in the world. If all - Chriftians were at- 
tentive to the caufe of Chrift in their converfation, 
Humbling blocks would be removed out of the way 
of the inconnderate, and the mouths of malicious 
enemies would be Hopped. " Many, feeing our good 
works, would glorify our Father who is in heaven." 
" Whatfoever things are true, and honeft, and fuft, 
and pure, and lovely, and ptaife- worthy, think on 
thefe things," if you defire to enjoy peace in your 
own minds, or to be ufeful to others around you. 

May we fee more and more of the accomplifh- 
ment of the prayer of our Lord Jefus, that all his 
followers may u be one in the* Father, and in the 
Son ; that the world may know that he is fent by 
the Father." 

€ 3 LEG- 



30 THE HrSTORT [Left. 3. 



LECTURE III. 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

Chap. i. 11, — 15. 



Ver. ll. — And Naomi /aid, Turn again, my 
daughters, why will ye go with me ? Are there yet 
any more Jons in my womb that they may be your 
husbands ? 

Turn again, my daughters. Naomi does 
sot call them her daughters-in-law, but her daugh- 
ters. They deferved to be addrefied by her in this 
affectionate language.. They were as dutiful and af- 
fectionate to Naomi as if fhe had born them. 

Turn again, why will ye go with me ? We ought 
not, without good reafon, to leave the land of our 
nativity. We are not bound to live all our days in 
one place or in one country, but we ought not to 
change our condition or country without being able 
to give a good reafon for it. There is no part of 
the world which the curfe of God hath not reached ; 
and if we hope, by leaving our native land, to leave 

the 



Ch.i. 11, 15.] OF RUTH. 31 

the miferies of life behind us, we will be miferably 
difappointed. Naomi had formerly too good reafon 
for coming into the land of Moab, and me had now 
a very fumcient reafon for leaving it ; but it was 
highly proper that her daughters-in-law mould con- 
sider, before they accompanied her to Bethlehem, 
whether their reafons were as good as her's. " As 
a bird that wandereth from its nefl, fo is a man that 
wandereth from his place." 

Are there yet any Jons in my womb, that they 
Jhould be your hujbands t Before the law was given 
by Mofes, it appears to have been cuftomary in 
fome parts of the Eaft, that the wife of a man who 
died childlefs mould become the wife of his brother ; 
and therefore Judah doomed his daughter in-law to 
the fire as an adulterefs, when he heard that fhe had 
committed whoredom in the houfe of her father, 
where fne was ordered to continue till Shelah, the 
fon of Judah, was marriageable. But Orpah and 
Ruth could have no profpecl: of fecond marriages in 
the family of Naomi. She was now childlefs, and 
could have no profpecl: of other children to fupply 
the place of thofe me had loft. 

Ver. 12 Turn again, my daughters ; go your 

way, for I a?n too old to have an hujband. If I 
Jhould fay, I have hope ; if I Jhould have an huf- 
band a If o to-night, and Jhould alfo bear font. 

Turn again, my daughters ; go your way, for I 
am too old to have an hufband ; or, if I mould have 
an hufband, I cannot expect to have any more fons j 
or, if I mould have both an hufband and fons, they 
would be too long in growing up to maturity for 
becoming your human as. Naomi would have pre- 
ferred 



32 THE HISTORY [Led. 3.- 

ferred thefe two young widows to all other women 
as wives for her fons, if any fons had been left to 
her. But all her fons were gone to the land of for- 
getfulnefs, and fhe was not fooiifli enough to think 
either of a hufband or fons at her time of life. She 
did not indulge romantic hopes, as too many do, of 
what would never happen. There are fome who, 
in a bad fenfe, hope againft hope ; but their hopes, 
built upon a foundation of fand, deceive them, and 
end in deferved mifery. Naomi did not allow her- 
felf to form fuch vifionary expectations as would 
end only in difappointment. The hand of the Lord 
had gone out againft her, and robbed her of her 
bell friends, and me would not, like the foolifh 
Edomites, fay, " The bricks are fallen down, but 
we will build with hewn ftone ; the fycamores are 
fallen down, but we will build with cedar." It 
would add greatly to our happinefs, if we could be- 
lieve and improve that fundamental principle" of our 
religion, " If God make peace, who can make trou- 
ble ? but if he hideth his face, who can behold him, 
whether it be done againft a nation, or againft a man 
only ?" 

/ am too old to have an hufband. She would not 
fo much as think of another hufband in her advan- 
ced period of life. The apoftle Paul feems to take 
it for granted, that a woman would fcarcely be found 
at fixty years of age, or upwards, who would think 
of marriage ; and therefore, in giving directions 
about thofe female fervants of the church who could 
not conveniently perform the duties required of them 
if they were married, he fays, M Let no widow be 
taken into the number under fixty years of age." 

Why? 



Ch. i. 11, 15.] OF RUTH. 33 

Why ? Becaufe the younger widows, if they were 
taken into the number, might marry. 

I am too old to have an huiband ; but if I mould 
have an huiband, can I hope to have children ? Sa- 
rah bore a child when fhe was ninety years of age. 
But it would be prefumptuous to exped miracles in 
the ordinary courfe of providence. 

Some people cannot think without envy of hap- 
pinefs enjoyed by others which themfelves cannot 
hope to enjoy, as if the pleafures of others were 
their punifhment. But Naomi wifhed to each of ^ 
her daughters-in-law reft in the houfe of an huiband, 
although fhe herfelf was to continue a defolate and 
poor widow. And me hoped it would not be a long 
time till fhe heard that both of them were happy in 
another change of life. I fear few of us are pof- 
fefled of the generous charity of the apoftle Paul, 
who could fay, u We are glad when we are wreak, 
and ye are ftrorig." 

If I Jhould fay that I have hope ; if I fhould 
have an hufband alfo to-night, and Jhould hear fons 9 

Ver. 13 Would ye tarry for them till they 

were grown P Would ye flay for them from having 
'hufbands * Nay, my daughters ; for it grieveth me 
fore for your fakes that the hand of the Lord is gone 
out againft me. 

Extremes in every thing are to be avoided. 
Some, too precipitately, rufh into the married ftate. 
They do not duly deliberate^about this important 
flep of life. They do not confult with thofe friends 
who have a right to give their mind, and they do 
not take time to confult with God, from whom eve- 
ry good gift cometh. But others are too dilatory 

about 



34 THE HISTORY [Left. 3. 

about entering into the married flate. The bad ef- 
fects of undue delay of marriage have often appear- 
ed in the licentious conduct of the young. It was 
the defire of Naomi, not only that her daughters- 
in-law might find reft, each of them in the houie of 
an hutband, but that they might find it while the 
years of their youth yet continued with them. Sup- 
pofe the poffibility that me might yet have children, 
would ye tarry for them till they were grown ? 
Would ye flay for them from having husbands ? 

Nay, my daughters ; for it grieve th me fore for your 
fakes that the hand of the Lord is gone forth againfl 
me. She was grieved for her own fake tha/ the. 
hand of the Lord was gone out againft her, and yet 
fiie would have borne it much more eaiily if {he 
herfelf had been the only fufTerer. That fhe was a 
widow, and childlefs, appeared hard to her ; but it 
diftrefTed her no lefs to think that her amiable 
daughters-in- law were become widows in the days- 
of their youth, efpecially when fbe thought, as fhe 
was difpofed to do, that their affliction was the ef- 
fect of a quarrel that God had with herfelf. 

This is a great aggravation of the afflictions of many 
parents, that their children are involved with therrt- 
felves. They could bear poverty, they could bear 
reproach, they could bear death itfelf, had they none 
who depended on them for bread and for refpecta- 
bility in the world. But it appears hard to them, 
that their innocent babes, or their affectionate chil- 
dren in a more advanced period of life, mould fuf- 
fer along with them. Under this covert, we are too 
apt to hide from ourfelves our impatience under the 
difpenfations of divine providence. God has the 

fame 



Ch. i.Nll, 15.] OF RUTH. 35 

fame right to rule over the fruit of our bodies as- 
over ourfelves, and to allot to them their fhare of 
the good or the bad things of this world. 

It is bittereft of all, when we have reafon to think 
that our fins have provoked God to punifh us in the 
perfons of our friends, or to inflict thofe ftrokes 
which our friends mull feel as heavily as ourfelves. 
Let us beware of ever expofing ourfelves to fuch 
heart-piercing reflections by conduct that may bring 
down God's difpleafure upon our families. Let us 
humble ourfelves under the mighty hand of God, 
and commit to his difpofal our families as well as 
ourfelves. David procured the death of his little 
child, and threatenings of heavy judgments upon 
others of his family, by, his fin. But let us remem- 
ber what method David took to recover his peace 
of mind, and, if we are in like circumftances, fol- 
low his example, 2 Sam. xii. pfal.4i. 

God's people may fometimes, without good rea- 
fon, think that the hand of the Lord is gone forth 
againft them, in the calamities which befal their fa- 
milies or friends. David had good grounds for 
humbling himfelf under the hand of God gone forth 
againft himfelf in the difaliers that befel his family; 
but Job had no reafon to think that his children 
Were taken away by God either for their own or 
their father's tranfgreflion. Satan moved the Lord 
againft that good man to deftroy him without caufe. 
Our afflictions are hard enough to be borne by us, 
without the addition of groundlefs reflections againft 
ourfelves. At the fame time, the error is much 
more common of infenfibility to the divine difplea- 
fure, when it has been really kindled by our fins, 

than 



36 THE HISTORY [Left. ?. 

rhan of vexing ourfelves with unjuft fufpicions of 
God's anger. But it will be our wifdom to guard 
againft miftakes fatal to our peace of mind, as well 
as thofe which indicate an unhumbled fpirit. No- 
thing is more unlike a faint than itupidity under di- 
vine corrections, whether they come upon us in 
our own perfons, or in the perfons of our friends ; 
hut few thing? are more unfavourable to the pro- 
grefs of holinefs than groundlefs jealoufies enter- 
tained and cherifhed concerning the dealings of di- 
vine providence in the management of our concerns. 

There is one thing that ftill remains to be confl- 
dered concerning this parting fpeech of Naomi to 
her daughters-in-law. Why did fhe difluade them 
from going with her to the land of Judah, where 
the true God was well known, and perfuade them 
to return to a country of abominable idolaters, where 
they would be carried down the flream of general 
practice into the abyfs of perdition ? " Becaufe of 
fuch things" as are commonly pfadnfed by the hea- 
then, u the wrath of God cometh on the children of 
dif obedience." Ought not Naomi then to have ra- 
ther endeavoured to pluck her beloved daughters as 
brands^ut of the burning, by alluring them into a 
land where the method of falvatron was known, and 
where the means of grace were enjoyed ? 

We are not bound to juflify all that Naomi fpake 
or did, and we ought not rafhly to. condemn her, be- 
caufe we know only a few of the things that fhe 
fpake to her daughters-in-law. But, in charity to 
that good woman, we ought to believe, that, for 
years pair, fhe had been endeavouring, by her prac- 
tice and her converfe, to recommend to her young 

friends 



Ch. 1. 11, — 15.] OF RUTH. 37 

friends the worfhip of the God of Ifrael. If they 
were truly turned from the error of their ways, 
nothing that is here faid was likely to drive them 
back to their own country. But if they were not, 
why mould they go forward with her into her coun- 
try, where ihe could not fupport them, and where it 
was poflible that, from the behaviour of Naomi's 
countrymen to fuch deftitute ftrangers, they would 
rather contract prejudices unfavourable to their reli- 
gion, than cordially join in their worfhip ? They 
might have been difgufted even with Naomi's own 
conduct, if fhe had not fairly told them what incon- 
veniences they were to encounter in going tb her 
land, and to her people. We ought, by all prudent 
methods, to gain profelytes to a religion which we 
know to be divine ; but we are to catch none by 
guile. When Paul fays, " Being crafty, I caught 
you with guile," he fpake not in his own perfon, 
but in the perfon of an objector to the. account he 
was giving of his own conducl:. Far from allowing 
that he caught them with guile, he proves the very 
reverfe to have been the cafe ; for he renounced " the 
hidden things of difhonefty, not walking in crafti- 
nefs, not handling the word of God deceitfully." 

Our Lord very plainly told his followers what 
they were to expect in his fervice. To a man who 
exprefled his intention of following him, he faid, 
" The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air 
have nefts, but the Son of man hath not where to 
lay his head." We may however obferve, that 
Chrift ufually adminiftered proper antidotes againfl 
the fears which the doctrine of the crofs might ex- 
cite in the minds of his hearers. When he told 
D them 



38 THE HISTORY [Left. 3. 

them that they mull deny themfelves, and take up 
their crofs and follow him, he told them likewife, 
that thofe who loft their lives for his fake ihould 
find them. It may be doubted whether Naomi, in 
the dejeclion of her fpirits, did not overlook the 
powerful confolations which might have encouraged 
her young friends to follow her into the land of If- 
rael, and would have more than compenfated all 
the inconveniences to which they would have been 
expofed in a ftrange land. She honeftly told them 
that they could not reafonably expect outward pros- 
perity if they Ihould accompany her. But might 
fhe not have reminded them of thofe fpirituai ad- 
vantages, which made the condition of the pooreft 
Ifraelites unfpeakably more advantageous than the 
happiefl ftate of thofe heathens who knew not God ? 
Doubtlefs Ihe had often fpoken of thofe privileges 
to them in former times ; but as yet they had not 
learned their nature, and perhaps Naomi now def- 
paired of ever being able to give them a perfecT: 
idea of it. 

Ver. 14. — And they lift up their voice and wept 
again ; and Orpah kijjed her mother -in-law », hut 
Ruth clave unto her. 

Again they lift up their voices and weep when 
Naomi had reprefented her own deftitute condition, 
and the little encouragement me could give them to 
go with her to her native land. They were all 
pierced with a deep concern for the afflictions which 
fhe had fufrered, without any profpect of feeing them 
redreffed in the manner they could have' wiflicd. 
But there is always a mixture of pleafure with the 
tears which flow from companion and charity. 

Thofe 



Ch. i. 1 1,-15.] OF RUTH. 3S 

Thofe men are not to be envied, but pitied, who 
feel not for the woes of their friends. 

Naomi had already kifled both her daughters-in- 
law. Orpah now kiffes Naomi and leaves her. We 
can fcarcely avoid thinking, when we read this hif- 
tory, of the young man whom our Lord loved, al- 
though he would not follow him. The young man 
was amiable for his natural difpofitions, and for his 
difcreet behaviour ; but, alas ! he could not think of 
parting with all that he had for Chrift. Orpah, in 
like manner, would have gladly accompanied Nao- 
mi to her people, could fhe have enjoyed with her 
thofe accommodations that appeared to her necefTa- 
ry for her earthly felicity. She khTed Naomi be- 
caufe (he dearly loved her, but fhe did not love the 
God of Naomi fo as to forget her father's houfe, 
and her own people, to ferve him. Think not that 
an amiable natural temper, or an affectionate beha- 
viour to your parents and friends, are either fuffi- 
cient indications of true religion, or compenfate for 
the want of it. The young man whom Jefus loved 
went away forrowful from Jefus, but his forrow at 
leaving him did by no means atone for the deaf ear 
which he turned to his religious inftructions. Na- 
ture, in its highelV endowments and improvements, 
is infinitely below grace. There are fome believers 
in Chrift, whofe natural tempers are never refined 
to fuch a degree as we might expecl: from their reli- 
gious principles ; yet they fhall dwell for ever iff 
the region of love. There are other men, whofe 
natural tempers are affectionate and humane. Per- 
haps they are improved by all the advantages of a 

)lite and learned education. Thus they acquire an 

uncommon 



4° THE HISTORY [Led. 3. 

uncommon degree of refpeclability in the world, and 
yet continue deftitute of faith in Chrift and love to 
God. With all their attainments, they are Hill in 
a miferable condition. The love and efteem of men 
will not fecure them from the wrath of that God 
whofe fervice they neglect, and whofe Son, the only 
Saviour, they defpife. 

Orpah kijfed her mother-in-law, hut Ruth clave to 
her. And Ruth's attachment to her was worth ten 
thoufand of Orpah's kifles. The young nobleman 
in the gofpel treated our Lord with high refpect ; 
but all this availed him nothing, for he would not 
fell his poueflions at Chrift's command, and become 
a follower of Jefus. Happy were the apoftles who 
continued with him in all his temptations. They 
left all and followed him. What they left was lit- 
tle, but that love which difpofed them to leave all 
was highly valued by him, and they received an 
hundred fold of recompenfe even in this world. 

Ver. 15. — And fie /aid, Behold thy Jijler* in-law 
is gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Re- 
turn thou after thy Jifter -in-law. 

It was doubtlefs Naomi's grief, that a young wo- 
man whom fhe loved, and who loved her fo dearly, 
went back, not only to her people, but to her gods. 
Naomi, it is probable, knew her too well to be mif- 
taken in the fufpicion fiie had formed of her conduct. 
If her hufband, when he married her, had no better 
reafon than Naomi now had to judge favourably of 
her religious fentiments, he was greatly to be bla- 
med for taking her into his bofom. But love may 
eafily deceive a man who is clear, lighted in ordinary 
matters. Jacob, in all probability, did hot find it 

fo 



Ch. i. 11, 15.] OF RUTH. 41 

fo eaf mattei ... tod, to reclaim Rachel 

from the worfhip of her father's images. 

She is returned to her people and to her gods, 
Naomi doubted not that fhe was returning to her 
gods, although the faid nothing of them when fhe 
left her mother-in-law. Perhaps fhe was not even 
thinking of her gods ; but her return to her people 
was, in effect, a return to her gods. If fhe had in- 
tended to have nothing more to do with her idols, 
me would have fled from the temptations to idola- 
try, which furrounded her on every fide in the land 
of her nativity, and amongft her kindred. 

There are too many, even of the profeflbrs of 
the true religion, w T ho have no other reafon for pro- 
feffingit, but the public profemon of it amongtt the 
people to- whom they belong. Were they inhabi- 
tants of Greece, they would profefs either the 
Turkifh or the Greek religion, for the fame reafon 
that induces them to be Proteftants in Great Britain. 
Beware of thinking that the befl religion in the 
world will fave you, if you do not receive the truth 
in the love of it, and in the love of it not chiefly 
for your fathers' and brethrens' lake, but for its own; 
fake, and for the fake of its glorious Author. - 

Return thou after thy ftjler~in~law. Example 
has a mighty influence, the example efpecially of ' 
dear friends with whom we have long lived in ha-- 
bits of intimacy. If Orpah had gone with Naomi, 
Ruth and Orpah would have kept .one in 

countenance. As matters flood, Rut$ fas BE ly to 
be efteemed, by all her former friends', the rreatefl 
fool in the world. Did not Or' -ah leave her mo- 
ther-in-law, although fhe loved her with as warm 
D 3 afFedions 



42 THE HISTORY [Led. 3. 

affections as any mother-in-law could expect? But 
fhe was not fo unwife as to leave all her other friends 
for a lingle friend connected with her by a relation 
which was now extinguifhed. Ruth loved her mo- 
ther-in-law with an unreafonable and romantic fond- 
nefs. When Orpah, in her fight, had the good fenfe 
to leave her, and to return to much nearer friends, 
Ruth {till kept her foolifh refolution to go to a 
country which me knew not with an old woman, 
who, inftead of being able to fupport her, muft de- 
pend on the labour of this poor young woman. 
Such might be the reflections of thofe who knew 
not the fprings of Ruth's conduct. But Ruth had 
fenfe enough to know, that neither the example nor 
the opinion of other people, ought to be the rule of 
her own conduct. " It is a fmall thing for us to be 
judged of man ; but he who judgeth us is the 
Lord." 

Here again it may be afked, Did not Naomi cart 
ftumbling-blocks, as well as Orpah, in the way of 
Ruth ? Was it not a fufficient temptation for this 
young woman to fee Orpah returning to her gods ? 
Why does Naomi enforce the temptation, by exci- 
ting her to follow the example ? Does not Solomon 
give a much better advice, when with great earner!- 
nefs he exhorts us to " keep out of the path of evil 
doers," Prov. iv. 14, 15. ? 

Naomi did not certainly wifh that Ruth mould 
return to her gods > and if ihe did not wifh that me 
fhould return to her gods, Ihe could not wifh that 
fhe mould lay herfelf open to temptations, fuch as 
thofe to which Orpah was now expofing herfelf. 
Ruth, therefore,, who knew Naomi's zeal for the* 

Lord 



Ch. i. 11, — 15.] OF RUTH. 43 

Lord God of Ifrael, would not underftand her words 
as an advice to follow Orpah's example, but rather 
as a trial of her fincerity, and a modeft reference of 
the important peint to her own choice, whether me 
would go with Orpah to her friends and her gods, 
or come with Naomi to the land of Ifrael, and wor- 
fhip the God of Abraham and of Lot. We ought 
to be zealous for the Lord God of Ifrael, and to do 
what we can to turn miners from the error of their 
ways ; but we cannot compel the inclination or the 
judgment of our friends. Chrift himfelf did not 
feek any followers that would not willingly comply 
with his injunctions. " If any man is willing to 
come after me, let him deny himfelf." He, who 
works in men to will and to do, will accept of no 
man's doings where the will is not engaged, Matt., 
xvi. 24. Gr. 

When Jefus fays to a man who would have fol- 
lowed him, " The foxes have holes, and the birds 
of the air have nefts, but the Son of man hath not 
where to lay his head," he did not intend to difluade 
any man from following him, but to let men know 
that they ought, before they profefs themfelves his 
followers, to confider what they may expect in his 
fervice, and whether they are prepared to bear the 
crofs without repining, when God calls them to en- 
dure it. 

When he fays to Judas r " What thou deft, do 
quickly," he by no means authorifed Judas to exe- 
cute his wicked delign of betraying his Mafter, but 
rather to awaken his confeience to a fenfe of the 
danger and bafenefs of his intentions, by placing 
the intended crime before his view, and fixing his 

min 






44 THE HISTORY [Led. 3; 

mind upon it as a crime prefently to be committed ; 
for thofe evils which are conlidered as prefent may 
ftrike horror, although they were far from appear- 
ing dreadful at a diflance. So Naomi, in the words 
before us, rather warns Ruth of the danger, of re- 
turning, than exhorts her to return : Return thou to 
thy people, and to thy gods. After what Ruth had 
learned of the God of Ifrael, fhe could not bear the 
thought of returning to the gods of Moab ; and, 
therefore, ihe would rather expofe herfelf to every 
poflfibie inconveniency and hardiliip in the land of 
Ifrael, than return to her own people. Let blinded 
idolaters walk, in the name of their gods ; we wilf 
walk in the name of our God for ever and even 
Never will we be fo mad, if we have any true 
knowledge of the glory of God, as to leave the 
Fountain of living waters, to make to ourfelves cif- 
terns, which will prove but broken citterns that can 
hold no water. The folly of apoftafy will not 
damp, but invigorate our zeal, for why mould ws 
follow the example of thofe who M begin in the fpi* 
rit and end in the flefft ?" 



LEC 



w ! 



Ch. i. 16, — 18.] OF RUTH, 45 



LECTURE IV. 






ruth's steadiness to her religious profession, 
Chap. i. 16, — 18. 



Ver. 16.— And Ruth /aid, Entreat me not to 

leave thee, or to return from following after thee ; 

for whither thou goefi I will go, and where thou 

lodgejl I will lodge : thy people fhall he my people* 

and thy God my God, 

Jlvuth clave unto Naomi, when Orpah 
kified and left her. How firmly fhe clave to Nao- 
mi, we learn from her own words : — 

" Do not intreat me (or do not prefs me) to leave 
thee, or to turn afide from following thee." Dearly 
as Ruth loved her mother-in-law, and pleafant as 
her words had ufually been in her ears, ihe was 
greatly diftrened with what Naomi had now faid. 
She could not really intend to perfuade her beloved 
daughter-in-law to return to the fervice of Che- 
mom j but Ruth could not bear the flighteil appear- 
ance 



46 THE HISTORY [Led:. 4. 

ance of temptation, efpecially from the lips of one 
who was fo dear to her, nor could fhe eafily bear the 
appearance of any fufpicion concerning her fteadi- 
nefs in the faith and worfhip of the God of If- 
rael. 

Ruth affiires Naomi, that it would ferve no pur- 
pole to remind her of the inconveniences which fhe 
might expect to encounter. She had already form- 
ed her refolution, and it was fo firm, that no confe- 
derations could induce her to alter it. ^Vhy then 
mould any more be faid on the fubjecl: ? It might 
make her very uneafy, but her purpofe could not be 
altered. 

Whither thou goefl I will go, and where thou 
lodgefi I will lodge. Should Naomi go to the end 
of the world, fhe would go with her. How much 
more when Naomi was going to the land of Ifrael, 
where the God whom {lie had chofen for her God 
was known and ferved. The land of Ifrael was 
likely to afford but poor accommodation for Naomi, 
and but poor profpe&s for a Moabitifh ftranger who 
attended her ; but it was the country of her beloved 
friend, it was the Lord's land, it was a land where 
fhe would be freed from thofe mighty temptations 
to idolatry which were fo formidable to her in her 
.own land, and where fhe would enjoy religious pri- 
vileges, no where elfe to be enjoyed in the world. 

Where thou lodgefl I will lodge. The company 
of Naomi in a cottage would be more pleafant to 
her than that of any of the Moabitifh ladies in a 
palace. " Better is a dinner of herbs where peace 
is, than a flailed ox and hatred therewith." Better 
is the company of a poor faint in a prifon, than the 

fociety 



I 



Ch. i. 16,— IS.] OF RUTH. 47 

fociety of the rich and great in their fplendid dwel- 
lings, if they take no delight in God, and in the re- 
membrance of his name. 

Thy people Jhall be my people. At this time Na- 
omi's people muft have been a very poor people af- 
ter fo many years of famine ; but they were Nao- 
mi's people, and they were the people of the Lord 
of hofls. If we defire to ferve God, his people muft 
be our people. If we love Cbrift, we muft culti- 
vate fellowfhip with thofe whom he acknowledges 
as his faithful followers. If his name be dear to 
us, we will entertain a high value for thofe on whom 
this worthy name is called. If we acknowledge 
him as our Lord and Saviour, we muft aflbciate our- 
felves with his loyal fubjecls, the objects of his love 
^.and care, the partakers with us of his falvation. 

And thy God my God. We are not to 1 infer from 
thefe words, that Ruth chofe the God of Ifrael for 
her God, merely or chiefly becaufe he was Naomi's 
God. She had not fo learned the God of Ifrael 
from her pious inftrudrefs. If fhe had chofen her 
God merely from refpecl to her earthly friends, 
why did fhe leave the god of her father and mother ? 
Boaz was better informed -concerning the moving 
fprings of Ruth's conduct, than we can pretend to be, 
and he attributed her voluntary exile from her own 
country to a principle of true piety. " A full re- 
compence," he fays, " be given thee of the Lord 
God of Ifrael, under whofe wings thou art come to 
trail." 

rt Thy God Jhall be," or, " thy God is my God." 
She knew that there was no God in all the earth 
like the God of Ifrael, the only living and true 

God 



4S THE HISTORY [Left. 4. 

She was inftru&ed by Naomi, and flie had probably 
been inftru&ed likewife by her hufband Chilion, 
that their God did not exclude the poor Gentiles 
from his covenant. They were indeed well quali- 
fied to teach her this neceffary and important truth, 
becaufe Rachel, the Canaanitefs, that illuftrious pro- 
felyte to their religion, was married into their own 
family. If Rahab was received by God into the 
number of his people, why may not Ruth alfo, the 
Moabitefs, claim and expect a (hare in the bleffings 
of his covenant ? She appears not to have called in 
queftion her right to truft in him as her God, and 
fhe devotes herfelf to him as one of his people, and 
thereby fets us a good example of faith and obedi- 
ence. The Lord requires us, in the firft command- 
ment of his holy law, to know and acknowledge 
him as the only true God and our God. If Ruth, 
a Moabitefs, one of that nation who were to be ex- 
cluded for ten generations from the congregation of 
the Lord, is not afraid to fubfcribe with her hand 
unto the Lord, and to call him her God, why mould 
we, from a pretended humility, call in queftion our 
right to fay unto the Lord, " Thou art our God ?" 
Or why mould we prefer any other portion, or any 
other Lord, to him? Ought we not to fay, as Jere- 
miah teaches us, u Truly in vain is falvation hoped 
for from the hills, and from the multitude of moun- 
tains. Truly in the Lord our God is the falvation 
of Ifrael. Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art 
the Lord our God !" Or, as we are taught by Ifrael, 
" O Lord our God^ other lords befides Thee have 
had the dominion over us ; but henceforth by Thee 

only 



Ch. i. 16, — 18.] OF RUTH. 4» 

only will we make mention of thy name !" Ifaiah 
* xxvi. 13. 

Ver. 17 Where thou diefi will I die, and there 

will I he buried. The Lord do Jo to me, and more 
alfo, if ought hut death part thee and me. 

Ruth was ftill but a young woman, and yet fhe 
thought of the day of her death ; and the thoughts 
of that day perhaps contributed to fix her resolution 
of cleaving to Naomi. It is belt to live with thofe 
whofe death we wifh to die. 

Ruth fuppofed it likely that Naomi would die be- 
fore her. This conlideration was unpleafant to one 
who was forfaking all other friends to go with her. 
If (he had loft one or feveral friends in the land of 
Moab, other friends would have been left ; but if 
me went with Naomi to the land of Ifrael, fhe 
knew of no other friends. The death of Naomi, 
who was as mortal as her hufband and her fons, 
might foon leave Ruth a friendlefs itranger. She is 
willing however to take the rifk. If Naomi mould 
die, fhe had no intention of returning to the country 
from whence fhe fet out. When Naomi's friends 
died in the land of Moab, me returned to the land 
of Ifrael ; but when Naomi dies, Ruth will not re- 
turn to the land of Moab. The land of Ifrael is 
henceforth to be her country. She will not return 
to thofe friends that will exert all their influence to 
bring her back to her ancient gods. She will con- 
tinue till (lie dies in the land of Ifrael, however 
friendlefs and unprotected, and w r ill have her grave 
in the fame place with Naomi, with whom fhe 
hopes to live in a better world. 

God do Jo to me t and more alfo, if ought but death 
E part 



50 the history [Led!:. 4. 

part thee and me. What might happen before 
death fhe could not fay. Her profpefts were but 
dark, and yet fhe is fully determined to abide with 
Naomi. Neither poverty, nor the contempt ufual- 
ly thrown upon ftrangers, nor any of the wrongs to 
which an unprotected woman in a ftrange' land 
might be expofed, would induce her to feparate 
from fuch a beloved friend, or to leave the country 
where the only true God was ferved. 

God do Jo to me, and more alfo. ' God inflict upon 
me punifhments too awful to be named, and punifh- 
ments ftill more dreadful than any that thou canft 
fuppofe, if ought but death part betwixt thee and 
me. 1 Ruth folemnly f wears that fhe will ftill cleave 
to Naomi, and to the God whom Naomi ferved. 
Thus David bound his foul by an oath to keep all 
God's righteous judgments. Thus we all ought to 
lay ourfelves under the moll facred engagements to 
cleave to the Lord as our God, and to walk in his 
ways: Can we be too firmly engaged to the fer- 
vice of Him, whom to ferve is liberty and happi- ' 
nefs ? 

When we confider how firmly Ruth had refolved 
to cleave to Naomi, and to the God of Ifrael, 
CRight we not to confider, whether we, who enjoy fo 
vaitiy fuperior advantages 1 to Ruth, are determined 
with equal , firmnefs to continue in the faith, in 
the profeffion, and in the practice of our religion ? 
Rath was inftructed only by one, or a very few 
private Ifraelites, in the knowledge of religion. She 
never had enjoyed an opportunity of attending upon 
any of the public miniftrations 'of the priefls or 
Levites. If fhe had ever feen the Bible, and learn- 
ed 



Ch.i. 16, — 18.] OF RUTH. 1 

ed to read it, that Bible confifted only of feven at 
mod of the many books of Scripture which are put 
into our hands ; yet fhe facrifices all the pleafures, 
all the friendfliips of her youth, all the hopes of 
better days in her own country, to that holy reli- 
gion which me profelTed. What may be expected 
of us who have fo long enjoyed the benefit of the 
church-adminiilrations which Chrift hath appointed 
for the conversion of finners, and the rftablifhrnent 
of faints, and who, from children, have been accuf- 
tomed to read the Scriptures ? We are under no 
necefhty of leaving our native country and our 
friends, to enjoy the inititutions of the gofpel, or 
the fullell liberty of worshipping God. in a manner 
agreeable to his own direction. If we are unfettled 
in our religious principles and practice, we canno 
make the excufes that many might have made, who 
neverthelefs were far from taking advantage of them, 
to excufe a conduct that would admit of no excufe ; 
for what excufe can be made for poftponing the care 
of our fouls to any thing in this world? If ten 
thoufand deaths, or if circumilances of mifery worfe 
than any kind of death, were to. be f offered by us 
for our religion, would it coniift with true wifdom 
to purchafe an exemption from fuch temporary 
fufferings at the price of everlafting deftruction from 
the prefence of the Lord ? Yet ftill more inexcufa- 
bi'e are we, if, without the temptations of any ex- 
traordinary inconveniences in this world, we prove 
unfaithful to our religious profeflion. 

That we may cleave with purpofe of heart to the 
Lord, it is neceffafy that our hearts be renewed by 
the grace of God ; for never will we be true fol- 
lowers- 



52 THE HISTORY [Left. 4. 

lowers of them who left all and followed Chriftj 
unlefs we are delivered from the remaining power 
of that attachment to the things of the prefent world, 
which renders fo many profefTors of religion unlia- 
ble in all their ways. If God put his fear into our 
hearts, we will not depart from him, Jer. xxxii. 
40. If we are left to the natural impulfe of our 
own hearts, however amiable our natural difpofitions 
may be, we will follow the example, not of Ruth, 
but of Orpah, who killed and left Naomi, Heb, 
xiii. 9. 

Perhaps fome may allege that "Ruth, with all her 
firmnefs to her religious principles, forgot a part of 
that duty which the light of nature taught her. 
Why did me not fhew fome attachment to her own 
mother, as well as to her mother-in-law ? Why did 
fhe leave her parents with an intention never to re- 
turn, that fhe might go to a land which fhe knew 
not ? The anfwer is eafy. She faw that fhe could 
not return to her mother without expofing herfelf 
to very dangerous temptations. She could not, per- 
haps, have lived in her mother's houfe, without fee- 
ing daily homage paid to falfe gods, and meeting 
with daily folicitations, and more than folicitations, 
to join in the praclice of abominable idolatries. 
She might foon have been given in marriage to a 
worfhipper of Chemofh ; and it may eaiily be jud- 
ged how little fuch a convert as Ruth was prepared 
to encounter the temptations to which fhe might 
have been expofed in the houfe either of a mother 
or a hulband. She therefore forgot her mother's 
houfe and her own people. With a dinnterefted 
fpirit, fhe embraced and held fall that religion 

which 



Ch. i. 16, — 18. | of ruth. 53 

which Ihe had been taught, not only by her mother- 
in-law, but by the Spirit of God. IMefs (he had 
been drawn by that divine power, which alone can 
change the hearts of men, fhe would not have come 
to the Lord's land, and to God himfelf as her ex- 
ceeding joy. We are not called, in the literal fenfe 
of the words, to "forfake our father's houfe and our 
own people ;" yet, in the fpiritual fenfe, it is abfo- 
lutely necelfary. We mult be ready to part with 
every thing for Chrift, if we defire to be Chrift's 
difciples ; for if any man come to him, ** and hate 
not father, and mother, and brothers, and lifters, yea, 
and his own life alfo, he cannot be one of his difci- 
ples." 

Whilll we confider the Itedfaflnefs of Ruth's re- 
ligious principles, we cannot refrain from admiring, 
like wife her fervent love to Naomi, and contempla- 
ting the happinefs which both of them enjoyed m 
their mutual friendlhip. If earthly felicity feems 
a proper fubject of envy, who would not envy this 
happy pair of friends, rather than Haman in all his 
grandeur, or Solomon in all his glory ? And yet 
who were ever poorer than Naomi and Ruth ? 

Live in love and peace with all men if you can, 
efpecially with all Chriltians, and with none more 
than with thofe of your own houfe. But if you 
defire to enjoy the fweets of fuch domeftic friend- 
lhip, imitate the piety, the modelty, the gentlenefs, 
the patience, the meeknefs of thefe good women. 
Be careful efpecially of your tempers in the time o£ 
affliction. There are fome who feem at times to 
overflow with good- will and kindnefs to their friends, 
but at other times, efpecially times of affliction, they 
E 3 are 



54 THE HISTORY [Left. 4. 

are fucb forts or daughters of Belial, that it is al- 
moft impoffible to live in friendfhip with them. 
Such was not Naomi. She was always difpofed to 
take the heavieft fhare of her family ami&ions, and 
to make them as light to her friends as poffible. 
When her heart was wrung by forrowful reflections, 
ihe fpake kindly to them, and fhewed a warm re- 
gard to their intereft. The law of kindnefs was 
ever on her tongue ; and the complaints that were 
extorted from her were not of that fullen kind which 
provoke indignation, but expreffive of that refigna- 
tion, and that tendernefs of heart, which excite com- 
paiTion mingled with eiteem. 

Ver. 18 When Jhe Jaw that Jhe was Jledjajlly 

minded to go with her, then Jhe lejt Jpeaking with 
her. 

The words of Ruth evidently proceeded from 
her heart, and produced full conviction in the mind 
of Naomi, that her beloved daughter-in-law would 
trouble her with no fullen reflections on her change 
of condition, whatever new hardihips might befal 
her in the land of Ifrael. Naomi, therefore, w r as 
fully fatisiied, and added not a word more on the 
fubjeft. She faw that it would give pain, and do 
no good ; and why mould any man fpeak a w 7 ord 
that gives pain to his neighbour, unlefs that pain 
has fome advantage attending it, or likely to attend 
it ? Words mould be like food or medicine. Words 
of reproof or alarm may fometimes be no lefs ufe- 
ful than thofe drugs which are unpalatable but falu- 
tary. But mould a wife man ufe any kind of lan- 
guage, efpecially difagreeable language, that can do 
no good ? 

When 



Ch. i. 16, — 18.] OF RUTH. 55 

When Ruth had given Naomi as good proof as 
fhe could give her of her fettled determination to 
cleave to the God of Ifrael, Naomi is fully fatisfied, 
and gives her no farther trouble. Thus ought we 
to reft fatisfied with thofe credible profeftions of 
faith in Chrift, and ftedfaft adherence to his truths 
and ways, which are required from thofe who are 
admitted to the communion of the church. Such 
profeffions are necefiary to eftablifh that confidence 
which church-members ought to have in one ano- 
ther ; and when they are made, we are deficient in 
that charity " which believeth all things," if we 
give place to groundlefs furmifes concerning their 
fincerity. They may in the end prove infincere, for 
ought we can tell ; but to form fufpicions of them 
till good ground is given for them, difcovers, not a 
godly jealoufy over our brethren, but a proud cenfo- 
rious fpirit which the laws of Chrift condemn. 

By her noble profefiion of ftedfaft adherence to 
the religion of Naomi, Ruth gained this advantage, 
that nothing more was faid to her about returning 
to the gods of Moab. If we defire peace and quiet- 
nefs in the ways of God, let us openly avow our 
purpofe of heart to cleave to the Lord, and make it 
evident in the courfe of our profefiion and practice, 
that we are fincere, and refolved to be ftedfaft. 
When the friends of Chrift fee evident figns of our- 
attachment to the good caufe in which we are enga- 
ged, they will treat us with confidence, and be rea- 
dy to ftrengthen our hands by the various offices of 
Chriftian communion. When his enemies fee our 
Father's name written on our foreheads, they will 
defift from thofe folicitations to turn from our pro- 
fefiion 



56 th£ history [Led. 4. 

feffion which thej fee to be fruitlefs. u If it be pof- 
lible, as much as lieth in us, let us live peaceably 
with all men ;" but let us not feek peace with the 
ungodly, by diflembling our attachment to thofe 
truths which they difbelieve, or thofe duties which 
they" defpife. If they will not live peaceably with 
us, unlefs we become their fervants, and forfeit the 
character of faithful fervants to Chrift, their enmity 
will be better than a friendfhip bought at an ex- 
pence fo unwarrantable. But, for the moil part, 
wicked men themfelves defpife an unliable Chri- 
fKan, and cannot dived themfelves of an inward re- 
verence for the man whofe profemons and practice 
are uniform and felf- confident. » 



LEG 



Ch. i. 19, — 22.J 0F RUTH. 57 



LECTURE V. 



ilUTH'S ARRIVAL WITH NAOMI AT BETHLEHEM. 

Chap.!. 19, — 22. 



Ver. 19 So they two went, until they came to 

Bethlehem, jind it came to pafs, when they were 
come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved 
about them, and they /aid, Is this Naomi? 

X here is a great difference between the 
making, and the accompliftiing of a good refolu- 
tion. There are fome who refolve well, but they 
defer the accomplifhment of what they have refol- 
ved till a more convenient feafon, which never 
comes ; or they begin well, but they flop fhort in 
their courfe. Ruth not only refolved to go to the 
land of Ifrael with Naomi, and there to continue 
for life, but goes along with her till fhe comes to 
Bethlehem, and there dwells without ever wifhing 
to return. She did not fo much as afk leave from 
Naomi, before they left the country of Moab, to go 

back 



58 THE history [LecL 5. 

back to bid farewell to her father and mother. 
Doubtlefs a woman fo pious and affectionate as 
Ruth, mull have loved and honoured her parents, 
and have thought with regret of leaving them for 
ever ; but had fhe returned to take leave of them', 
they might have perfuaded or forced her to continue 
at home, and to continue at home appeared to her 
too hazardous to her foul. She therefore went 
along with Naomi, travelling no doubt on foot, and 
meeting with but indifferent accommodation on the 
road. At laft, however, they come to the ancient 
habitation of Naomi in fafety ; for the Lord, by his 
good providence, guarded them amidit the dangers 
of their journey, and brought them to their city of 
habitation. 

The appearance of Naomi with Ruth the Moab- 
itefs, excited much furprife at Bethlehem. It is 
probable the inhabitants of that city never expecl- 
ed to fee her more. She had been ten years abfeni, 
and they knew not that fLe was flill alive. She 
was now to her former acquaintances almoft like 
one who had returned to them from the land of for- 
getfulnefs. 

The great alteration in her condition would like* 
wife excite their furprife. She went out with her 
hufband and two fons, and returned only with a 
ftranger, whom none would expect to fee, a young 
woman of the land of Moab. Many alterations 
take place in families within the fpace of a few 
years, but thefe alterations , are tke lefs obferved 
that they are made by flow degrees. Firft one dies, " 
and then, when he is forgotten, a fecond, and a third. 
This is the common courfe of things ; but if two or 

three 



Ch.i. IP, — 22.] OE RUTH. 59 

three mould die out of a family at the fame time, 
all the neighbourhood would be {truck with afto- 
nithment, all the friends of the furvivors would be 
filled with compamon. Such did the cafe of Nao- 
mi appear to her acquaintances, who now, for the 
firft time, feem to have been informed of the change 
in her condition. 

If you confider what changes have befallen many 
of your neighbours within the lalt ten years, you 
will be ftruck with a fenfe of the mutability of all 
human things. Many have within the compafs of 
that time, loft their father, their mother, fome of 
their children, their friends whom they moil loved 
of any thing upon earth. If you have loft fuch 
friends, God has been loudly calling you to fet your 
afTeclions on things above, not on things of the 
earth. If you have not, remember that your earth- 
ly comforts are as uncertain as thofe of your neigh- 
bours. The next ten years may leave you as defo- 
late as the lafb ten years have left any of your 
friends. Your hulbands, your wives, your children, 
are as liable to the firoke of death as theirs. Whilft 
you pity them, learn to provide confolations for 
yourfelves for the time when you will need it as 
much as they. Naomi now appeared-in a very dif- 
ferent condition from, that in which her neighbours 
had formerly known her. But thofe who knew 
her piety would not think her miserable. She had 
loft her hufband, but not her God. She might have 
ftill faid, " Although my hufband is dead, and my 
children are dead, I know that my Redeemer li- 
veth. The Lord liveth, bleiled be my rock ! and 
the God of my falvatioa be magnified !" Naomi, 

however, 



€0 THE HISTORY [Led. 5. 

however, at meeting with her old acquaintances, 
had her foul harrowed afrefh By the recollection of 
her former enjoyments, which were now loft to her 
for ever. 

Ver. 20. — And fhe fa id unto them. Call me not 
Naomi, call me Mara ; for the Almighty hath dealt 
very bitterly with me. 

Naomi now faw many of the former acquain- 
tances of her hufband and her fons. Thefe acquain- 
tances would expect to hear of all that had befal- 
len them in the land of Moab, and would fpeak of 
many things that tended to revive the remembrance 
in Naomi's mind of the pleafant days ihe had pafled 
in their fociety. Her heart bled at the recollection. 
No wonder that her words, on this occafion, ex- 
preis a bitternefs of heart that attracts our pity ; 
but it is the bitternefs of grief, not of impatience. 
She is very deeply humbled under the mighty hand 
of God, but does not fret at the difpenfations of 
his providence. 

Call me not Naomi, but call me Mara. Naomi 
figniries pleafant, Mara fignines bitter. Naomi's 
name, when it was mentioned by her friends, added 
to her grief, - becaufe it brought to her mind all the 
pleafant things which fhe had enjoyed in the time of 
her profperity. It is very probable, that, in for- 
mer days, either fhe herfejf^ or fome_of her friends, 
might obferve how well her circumftances fuited 
her name. As fhe was a woman of a pleafant dif- 
pofition, {he gained the love of her huiband, her 
ions, her neighbours ; -and life is pleafant to thofe 
who enjoy the friendihip of all around them, efpe- 
cially as they are difpofed to make themfelves hap- 



Ch. i. 19,-22.] OF RUTH. 6l 

py, when happinefs is in their power. But the re- 
collection of the delightful days fhe had fpent in the 
bofom of her family and in the vifits of her friends, 
was more grievous to her. Her earthly happinefs 
was fled and gone. She could not now be happy 
in a town, which was emptied of thofe things that 
made it formerly delightful. She could not com- 
municate that pleafure to her acquaintance which 
me once did. She could not now wear that cheer- 
ful air which once beautified her countenance. She 
could not mingle in cheerful converfe. She had it 
not in her power to endear herfelf by acts or by 
words of kindnefs, as in former days. She might 
very probably think, in this burfl of grief which 
broke forth at the fight of her old acquaintances, 
that her very name would be a fource of perpetual 
affliction, and that fhe would not be able to hear it 
pronounced without a conflant renovation of what 
fhe now felt. " The heart knoweth its own bitter- 
liefs ;" and there are little circumfiances unknown 
and unfelt by others, that exafperate the forrows of 
the afflicted in a very great degree. 

Call me not Naomi, but call me Mara. We ex- 
cufe thefe words from the time when they were fpo- 
ken. They were dictated by pafiion rather than by 
judgment ; not indeed by the paflions of anger and 
difcontentment, but by the pafiion of grief, and of 
grief excited by the beft and lovelieft affections. 
She thought it impofiible that her days mould ever 
again be pleafant, becaufe Elimelech, and Mahlon ? 

I and Chilion, were no more to be her companions. 
But we ought not fo to lament the comforts we 
have loft, as to think that all our future days mull 
F be 



62 THE HISTORY [Lect. 5. 

be fpent in bitternefs. Has God taken away from 
us every thing that can render life comfortable ? 
Has he written fuch bitter things againit us, that our 
eye can never more fee good ? Let us mourn for 
our departed friends. <fc By the forrow of the coun- 
tenance, the heart is made better." Yet, when 
they are taken away from us, let us not fay, u Our 
gods are taken away, what have we more ?" God 
can give us joy for mourning. He can even turn 
our mourning, and the caufe of our mourning, into 
caufes of the moft heart- felt joy. " Mine eye 
ill all no more fee good," faid Job in the day of his 
griefs ; but he was happily difappointed, for he faw 
more good after his afflictions, than he had ever feen 
before them. 

Whatever evils befal us in life, let us not forget 
from whence they come. M Out of the mouth of 
the Moil High proceedeth not evil and good ?" It 
is he that " killeth and maketh alive, that bringeth 
down to the grave and bringeth up." Of this Na- 
omi was feniible. " Call me Mara, for the Al- 
mighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." Had her 
hirfband and her children died by the hand of vio- 
lence in a ftrange land, (he would have feen the 
agency of divine Providence in the injuries of wick- 
ed men. But, as matters flood, (he had none to 
blame for the calamities that came upon her, un- 
lefs me thought, as me was likely to do, that me 
had brought her calamities upon herfelf by fin. 
There was no hand of man laid upon her beloved 
friends. Their death was cadfed by the vihtation of 
the Almighty, who can do no injury to any of his 
creatures. 

The 



Ch.i. 19,-— 22.] OF RUTH. 6*3 

The Almighty hath dealt bitterly with me. If all 
oar afflictions come from the Almighty, it is ill vain,, 
as well as impious, to contend with him that fmites 
us. Shall the potfherds of the earth ilrive with. 
their Maker, who has all power to do with them as 
he pleafes ? He cannot be effectually oppofed, and 
he can do nothing that is wrong. Weak mortals 
may injure their fellow-creatures for their own ad- 
vantage ; but what profit can it be to the Almighty, 
that he ihould oppress the work of his; own hands ? 
u Yea, furely, God will not do wickedly ; neither 
will the Almighty pervert judgment. Who hath 
given him a charge over the earth, or who hath dif- 
pofed the whole work! ?- If he fet his heart upon 
man ; if he gather unto himfelf his fpirit and his 
breath, all rlem (hall perifh together, and fhall turn 
unto dud." And what can we fay if the Almigh- 
ty Ihould thus -difplay his fovereign power ? " Is it fit 
to fay to a, king, Thou art wicked, and to princes,. 
Ye are ungodly ? how much lefs to. him that accept- 
eth not the perfons of princes, and regardeth not the 
rich more than the poor, for they all are the work 
of his hands ?" 

This name, which we render Almighty, is by ma- 
ny underftood to fignify the all-fufficiency of God.. 
He is able to do what he pleafes, and there is an 
abundant and overflowing fulnefs with him to fup- 
ply all our wants, and to fatisfy all our defires ; and 
therefore, when, by the ftrokes of his hand, we are 
deprived of the fweeteit of our created enjoyments, 
it will be our wifdom, inftead of fretting at our 
loffes, to feek a compenfation for them in the en- 
joyment of himfelf. Out of his riches in glory, by 

Chriii 



04 THE HISTORY [Lect, 5. 

(Thrift Jefus, he can fupply all our wants. In the 
enjoyment of his favour, which is better than life, 
we may find abundant fatisfaclion when all things 
look black and dark around us. Have we loft fa- 
ther, mother, children, friends ? He is a thoufand 
times better than them all to thofe who choofe him 
for their portion, Hab. iii. 17, 18. 

The Almighty hath dealt vety bitterly with me. 
It is natural for mourners to aggravate their own af- 
flictions, and to call on all their neighbours to " be- 
hold and fee if there be any forrow like unto their for- 
row which is done unto them, wherewith the Lord 
hath airlifted them in the day of his fierce anger." 
Naomi had better reafon than molt perfons, to think 
that the Almighty had dealt very bitterly with her, 
when me had not a nngle child fpared to her in the 
fall of her family ; yet Job was afflicted with hea- 
vier ftrokes, and after all could praife the Lord, 
faying, " The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath 
taken away; blefTed be the name of the Lord. 
Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and 
Ihall we not receive evil alfo ?" 

It is undoubtedly our duty to confider the divine 
difpenfations towards us with attention, and to feel 
the fcourge with which God is pleafed to wound us. 
He will not lay upon man more than is meet, and 
therefore it is unfafe to be regardlefs of any of thofe 
heavy circumftances, by which he is pleafed to em- 
bitter our earthly condition. If they are all defign- 
ed for the accomplifhment of fome purpofe concern- 
ing us, we mutt endeavour to anfwer God's defigns, 
that we may not bring upon ourfelves heavier cala- 
mities than we have yet felt. We may however 

err, 



Ch. i. 19, — 22.] OF RUTH. 65 

err, by thinking our calamities heavier, when they 
are compared with other mens calamities, than they 
really are. Into this miftake, perfons of a forrow- 
ful fpirit are ready to fall, to the no little damage of 
their fouls. They may be full of complaint, when 
they have reafon to be thankful that their fituation 
is not worfe. They may deny themfelves that 
comfort which God is pleafed to allow them, and 
difable themfelves from giving glory to God in the 
fires, by that cheerful patience which is at all times 
our cluty. 

Do you afk how you may keep clear of both ex- 
tremes ? That you may be preferved from the un- 
happy effects which may refult from too flight 
thoughts of divine correction, confider how loudly 
God calls you, by various circumilances of affliction, 
to confider your ways, How inexcufable muff, you 
be, after all God r s dealings with you, if you are 
found indulging any of thole corrupt affections 
which you are called to mortify, or neglecting any 
of thofe duties to which your chaftifements ought 
to roufe you ! Jeremiah, in the book of the La- 
mentations, teaches the church deeply to deplore 
her miferies ; but to w T hat end? Not to infpiie her 
with defpondency, for he teacheth her to fay, u The 
Lord will not call off. for ever ; but though he 
caufe grief, yet will he have companion according 
to the multitude of his mercies." The true reafon 
why the prophet wifhed his people to feel their ca- 
lamities was, that they might be thoroughly awa- 
kened to comply with his exhortations : u Let us 
fearch and try our ways, and let us turn again 
F3 to 



66 THE HISTORY [Left. 5. 

to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts with our 
hands, to God in the heavens. " 

To prevent the bad eife&s that might refult from 
too deep fenfibility to our diflreffes, as if they ex- 
ceeded the bounds which God is ordinarily pleafed 
to fet to his feverities in dealing with his own peo- 
ple, it will be proper for us to confider the good as 
well as the evil things in our condition ; fairly to 
compare our grounds of complaint with thofe of 
others of God's people, either in our own times or in 
paft times ; and to remember that the "end of a thing 
is better than the beginning thereof." Nor ought 
we ever to forget, that, whatever grounds we have 
for humiliation under the mighty hand of God, for 
confeffioti of fins, for failing, for fpeedy reformation 
of every thing amifs in our tempers and conduct, 
thefe do not aiiecl the grounds of our faith in God 
through G brill Jefus, nor fuperfede the duty of glo- 
rifying the Lord in the evil day, by the patient en- 
daring of his will, and by exprefiing our faith and 
joy in the Lord. David, in the days of his troubles, 
though confcious that he had provoked the divine 
difpleafure againft hlmfelf, did not defpair of feeing 
the face of God again with- joy. u Why art thou 
eaft down, O my foul ? and why art thou difqnieted 
within me? Hope thou in God, for I mall yet praife 
him." 

Ver. 21 I went out full, and the Lord hath . 

brought me home again empty. Why then call ye 
me Naomi, feeing the Lord hath teftifud againft me, 
and the Almighty hath ajfli&ed me ? 

44 The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away." 
When he gives, he is under no neceihty of fecuring 

to 



ICh. i. 19, — 22.] OF RUTH. 67 

to us the poffedion of what he gives. We may 
foon provoke him, by our fins, to bereave us of all 
that he hath given us ; but however careful we may 
be to pleafe him, v/e cannot merit the continuance 
of his favours, and, without any fpecial provocation 
on our part, he may have good reafons for impove- 
rifhing us, and placing us in conditions quite the 
reverfe of thofe to which we have been accuftomed. 
Millions have found reafon to fay in the courfe of 
their earthly pilgrimage, that once they were full, 
but the Lord hath emptied them. And one great 
reafon why God fo frequently changes mens profpe- 
rous condition into mifery, is, to teach us the folly 
of trufting to our prefent enjoyments. '* But this 
I fay, brethren, the time is fhort. It remaineth 
that both they that have wives be as though they 
had none, and they that weep as though they wept 
not, and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced 
not, and they that buy as though they ponened not, 
and they that ufe this world as not abufing it ; for 
the fafhion of this world paffeth away." 

That Naomi was once full and was now empty, 
we can eafily believe. But what does fhe mean by 
faying, I went out full, but the Lord bath brought 
me again empty ? Was fhe not fo empty when fhe 
went out, that fhe was forced to leave her native 
land for bread ? And had fhe not now at her return 
the profpect of finding bread in her own land ? Why 
then does fhe make herfelf fo much richer at her 
departure than at her return ? 

It is natural for men under depreflion of fpirit to 
make unfair and invidious comparifons, both of 
their own condition with that of others, and of their 

own 



68 THE HISTORY [Left. 5* 

own former, with their prefent condition. When 
we look back on the part period of our life, if it 
has been on the whole profperous, we forget thofe 
little vexations and difgufts that mingled themfelves 
with our enjoyments, and fondly fix our review on 
the pleafant things that fweetened our former days. 
But when we confider our prefent condition, if we 
have been afflicted by the hand of God, and felt 
his chaftifements, w r e are ready to miflake the com- 
fortable parts of our condition, and, whilfl our minds 
are occupied with former and prefent pains, we 
fondly imagine that if we could recover all the plea- 
fures of our former life, we would be fuperlatively 
blelfed ; but when this cannot be expected, we feem 
to be fallen into an abyfs of mifery from which v/e 
can never be raifed up. Thus we often, by our 
folly, make our prefent days miferable, when they 
might be enjoyed with fome degree of comfort. 
The lies which our fancies invent, we believe at 
their report, although we might eafily know the de- 
ception, 

But Naomi could with propriety fay that fhe had 
gone out full, although her family was impoverifh- 
ed when fhe left the holy land. Although fhe was 
deftitute of filver and gold, and of the conveniences, 
and almoft of the neceffaries of life, fhe was rich in 
the pofTeflion of her hufband and children. At that 
time, when fhe compared her prefent condition with 
her former, fhe thought that fhe was poor ; but 
when fhe now compared it with that condition in 
which fhe returned to the land of Ifrael, deftitute 
of thofe riches which fhe thought far more valuable 
than gold and filver, fhe fays, / went out full. She 

was 



Ch. i. 19, — 22*] OF RUTH. 69 

was now fenfible that flie might have been happy 
and thankful at that time, although it may be quef- 
tioned whether me thought fo when the necemty of 
a voluntary exile damped her fpirit. Too often 
our vexations caufe us to forget our mercies. When 
every thing is not agreeable to our wifhes, we link 
in one difquiet the lenfe of an hundred mercies. 
We are unhappy, becaufe we want one cr two of the 
many things which we think neceiiary for our com- 
fort. God deprives us of one or two more of the 
ingredients of our felicity, of far more confequence 
than the former, and this convinces lis that we had 
formerly much more reafon to be thankful than we 
could then believe. A little reflection might con- 
vince us, that we flill have reafon to be thankful. 
44 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not confu- 
med." 

Connder thefe words of Naomi, ye who have 
your families yet fpared, although you find it dim- 
cult, in the prefent difrrefs*, to provide for them. 
44 Is not the life more than meat, and the body than 
raiment ?" Blefs God for the life of your friends, 
when your cupboards are empty. Do not fay that 
you are bereaved of every thing that makes life 
comfortable, if you enjoy the fweet fociety of thofe 
whom you love, or ought to love, as parts of your- 
fel.ves. If you thankiefsly bemoan your condition, 
as if God had bereaved you of all the fruits of his 
mercy, the time may come when you will think 
that you was full, although you thought yourfelf 
empty ; and ought to have bleiTed God for what he 

gave 

* This clifjourfe was deliveted in a time of fcarcity. 



70 THE HISTORY [Left* 5. 

gave and preserved, when you were giving a loofe 
to ufelefs wailings for what he had taken away. 

But if any of you are in Naomi's condition, be- 
reaved not only of your fubiiance, but of your 
friends, which are more precious to you than your 
fubflance, amidft your humiliation of fpirit under 
the rebukes of God, remember that the mercy of 
God is not clean gone. Ruth was left to the good 
woman when her fons were loft, and me was as good 
to her as ten fons. Had me not great reafon to be 
thankful for the daughter whom fhe had born in her 
exile ? for Ruth was not only the daughter-in-law 
of Naomi according to the fleih, but her fpiritual 
daughter in the Lord. 

If no friends of any kind are left to you on this 
earth, have you not a friend in heaven ? Is not 
Chrift the friend of our race ? and does he not call 
unto you from heaven to come unto him, that you 
may find in him that reft, that fatisfaclion, which, 
nothing earthly can give ? 

Why then call ye me Naomi, feeing the Lord hath 
teftijisd againji me, and the Almighty hath affli&ed 
m* ? Afflictions are a teiiimony againft. men that 
they are finners, but they are not always a testimo- 
ny that the fufferer is guilty of fome particular fins 
for which God chaftifeth him, Job ii. 3. Yet, when 
our calamities are chaftifements, they are teflimo- 
nies of God's difpleafure on account of our offences, 
Pfal, cvii. 17. Thofe who are broken in their fpi- 
rit, are difpofed to think of their fins under their af- 
flictions, and to acknowledge that they are teftimo- 
nies againfl them, the fruits of a juft quarrel that 
God carries on with them. They know that they 

need 



Ch. i. 19, — 22.] OF RUTH. 11 

need corrections, and confefs that they have defer- 
ved all that comes upon them, and a thoufand times 
more. 

Yet we muft not judge our neighbours, becaufe 
they are fore afflicted ; for although they well de- 
ferve all that comes upon them, we may deferve as 
much, and more. And if we are not corrected by 
God when we offend him, we are fo far from ha- 
ving any reafon to magnify ourfelves againft God's 
afflicted people, that we have reafon to tremble left 
we are found " baftards, and not fons ; for what fon 
is he whom the Father chafleneth not?" 

And the Almighty hath ajjliBed me. Naomi 
dwells upon the confideration that all her calamities 
came from almighty God. If it is God that fmites 
us, then let us not flight our troubles, or overlook 
any part of x the operations of God's hand ; for none 
of his works are unfruitful works of darknefs. But 
let us not faint when we are rebuked of him. ** It 
is the Lord, let him do what feemeth him good." 
He who' afflicts you, believers, is your God, and 
your Father. Learn from your Redeemer to fay, 
" The cup which my Father hath given me, ihall I 
no: drink it ?" 



LEG 



THE HISTORY [Left. 6 



LECTURE VI. 



RUTH GOES TO GLEAN, AND MEETS WITH EOAZ, 

Chap. ii. 1, — 4, 



Ver. 1 And Naomi had a kin/man of her huf- 

band's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of 
Elimelech ; and his name was Boaz. 

Oome allege that all men ought to be 
-equal in wealth ; but God maketh rich, and maketh 
poor. He gives to fome men power to get wealth, 
and withholds that power from others. He enables 
fome to leave wealth to their families, whiift the fa- 
milies of other men are left tp {haggle with all the 
inconveniences of poverty. <4 Who (hall fay to 
God, What dofl thou?" or, Why difpofeft thou fo 
unequally of thy benefits ? " The earth is the 
Lord's, and the fulnefs thereof." He hath given 
the earth indeed to the children of men, but he was 
not bound to give to every one of them equal por- 
tions 



Ch. ii. 1, — 4.] OF RUTHo 73 

tions of it. If he has given us any portion of it 
for our neceflary fubfiftence, we ought to be content 
and thankful. Still more, if he hath given us an 
ordinary portion of the comforts of life. If we are 
difpleafed becaufe he has not given us fo much as 
lie has given to fome of our neighbours, " our eye 
|s evil becaufe he is good." What haft thou gi- 
ven to God ? Verify thy claim, and thou malt be 
recompenfed. God will be in no man's debt. 

Naomi was very poor, and me had a kinfman by 
affinity who was very rich. Nothing is more com- 
mon than for the rich to have poor, and the poor t© 
have rich relations. Let a man exert all his activi- 
ty, let his labours be attended with all the fuccefs he 
can wim, let him have the comfort of feeing his 
-children becoming rich whilil he yet lives with 
them, yet it is not to be expected that many years- 
will elapfe till fome of his pofterity feel the incon- 
veniences of poverty, Elimelech was probably, as 
well as Boaz, of the princely race of Nahihon ; yet 
Boaz was a mighty man of wealth, when Elime- 
lec,h was under the neceffity of leaving his country 
to feek bread in a foreign land. Our happinefs is 
very precarious if it is placed either in our wealth 
or in our children. What multitudes of Abraham's 
pofterity are now in a wretched condition, although 
he abounded in wealth whilil he lived in this world! 
But he fought his happinefs in God, and in the bet- 
ter country. 

Boaz is faid to have been a mighty man of wealth* 
The meaning is, that he poffefTed a very large por- 
tion of riches. But the expreflion may remind us 
•of the power that is ordinarily conferred by wealth. 
G Rich' 






74 THE history [Led. 6". 

Rich men can do much, although not fo much as 
many think they have it in their power to do. How 
many excellent things were done by Job ! By the 
wife and charitable diftribution of his wealth, he 
Was eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, an hufband 
to the widow, a father to the fatherlefs j and many 
bleffings of them that were ready to perifh came 
upon him. Yet let us not envy the rich. They 
have power to do hurt as well as good ; and they 
£an do themfelves much more hurt than they can do 
to any one elfe. We truft too much to ourfelves, if 
we think that we would certainly make a good ufe 
of riches if we poflened them. Even Solomon, 
with all his wifdom* found that his wealth was, in 
many inftances, a fnare. He did much good, but 
he alfo did much evil which would not have been in 
his power if be had been~a poor man. 

Naomi had a kinfman of her hufband' 1 s* Mar- 
riage makes the hufband and wife one flefh. The 
kinfmen of the one ought therefore to be accounted 
the kinfmen of the other. It is wifely ordered by 
the great Lawgiver, that men mould not marry the 
nearefl of their own kindred, that various families 
might be connected by means of this inititution. 
Let every man, therefore, and every woman, learn 
to (hew that refpecl and kindaefs to their relations 
by marriage, which they owe to their relations by 
blood. If we admire the behaviour of Naomi and 
Ruth, why do we. not follow their example as far 
as our circumflances are like theirs ? 

Ver. 2.— And Ruth, the Moabitefi, /aid unto 
Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of 
corn after him in whofs fight IJJjallfind grace. 

Ruth 



Ch. li. 1, — 4.] of ruth. 7.3 

Ruth is again called the Moabitefs. It was her 
honour that, when her birth and her nativity were 
of the land of Moab, her behaviour was that of an 
Ifraeiitefs indeed. There are fools who upbraid 
men or women of virtue, with their parentage or 
their country. It is mentioned to the honour of 
Ruth, not that me was a Moabitefs, but that, being* 
a Moabitefs, fhe was a woman of virtue and piety. 
It will be the condemnation of many, that, when 
they were born in the church of God, they behaved 
as if their father had been an Amorite, and their 
mother an Hittite. It will be the praife of others, 
that they forgot their father's houfe, and their own 
people, to join themfelves unto the Lord. 

She [aid to Nao?ni r Let me go and glean* It was 
neceilary for her to think of fome way of obtaining 
a livelihood for herfelf and for her mother-in-law, 
who had returned empty to Bethlehem. Some wo- 
men in Naomi's condition would have thought 
themfelves entitled to a decent fupport from thei T 
rich relations j but the good woman did not w T iih to 
be troublefome to her friends. It does not appear 
that the had even fpoken of them to Ruth, and 
Ruth knew no way of obtaining bread but by her 
own induftry. As long as we can live by the la- 
bour of our own hands, why mould we be a burden 
to others ? This the apoftle Paul declares, that u if 
any man will not work, neither Ihould he eat." 

But why does Ruth propofe fuch a mean employ-* 
ment as that of gathering ears of corn wherever fhe 
could find a man that would give her leave ? Should 
not a woman, connected by marriage w T ith an illuf- 
trious family in Judah, have fought out a more ho- 
nourable 



76 THE HISTORY [Led. 6. 

nourable employment ? It is to be confidered, that 
the land of Ifrael was not a commercial country 
like ours, and afforded much lefs choice of em- 
ployment to the poor. Befides, the refinements of 
our age and country were never thought of in thofe 
ancient times. We find that Boaz was far from be- 
ing amamed of the employment chofen by his kinf- 
woman, if fhe could be faid to have made a choice 
where choice was perhaps not in her power. She 
and her mother needed bread ; and no time was left 
her for feeking out anothef way of life, till prefent 
wants were f applied. 

" When ye reap the harveft of your land," faid 
God to his people, " thou fhalt not wholly reap the 
corners, of thy field, neither fhalt thou gather the 
gleanings of thy harveft. And thou fhalt not glean 
thy vineyard, neither fhalt thou gather every grape 
of thy vineyard. Thou (halt leave them to the poor 
and ftranger : I am the Lord your God." Lev. xix. 
In thefe words, God gives to the poor and ftranger a 
right to glean in the fields of the Ifraelites. Ruth 
was both poor and a ftranger. The fame God who 
gave the field to the proprietor, gave the gleanings 
to the poor and ftranger. She had the fame right 
to glean in the fields, which the difciples of Jefus 
had to pluck the ears of corn in another man's field, 
and yet the malicious Pharifees did not queftion 
their right to do it on a labouring day, becaufe the 
law had faid, M When thou comeft into the Hand- 
ing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayeft pluck 
the ears with thy hand, but thou fhalt not move a 
Sckle into thy neighbour's Handing corn." 

Yet Ruth, who was probably ignorant of the 

law, 



Gh. iL 1, 4."] OF RUTH. *H 

law, was willing to accept as a favour what fhe 
might have claimed as a right. " Let me go and 
glean in the man's field, in whofe fight I fhall find 
grace." The poor are often too bold in their claims. 
They have a title, by the law of God, to their ne- 
ceffary food from the rich ; yet they ought to be 
thankful to the rich when they are willing to allow 
their claim. The rich mould be ready to diftribute ; 
yet they muft be judges of their own ability to dif- 
tribute, of the perfons that have a claim upon their 
charity, and of the (hare that thefe claimants ought 
to have of the fruits of their liberality. The mo- 
deft and thankful among the poor, will be molt 
cheerfully and liberally fupplied ; nor will they be 
defpifed for their poverty by any Chriftian who re- 
members that our Lord was once fo poor for their 
fakes, that he accepted of the miniftrations of the 
fubftance of many women from Galilee. Impu- 
dence and greedinefs will expofe poor perfons to 
contempt and neglect, but honeil poverty will al- 
ways meet with refpe£r. 

* 6 Let me go and glean in the field of the man 
that will favour me with permilhon." She is will- 
ing to employ herfelf in this mean occupation, ra- 
ther than return to the land of Moab, where me 
might perhaps have found a more plentiful fubfift- 
ence, without incurring obligations to ilrangers. She 
was a true daughter of Abraham, although fhe 
fprung from Lot. When Abraham came into the 
land whither Ruth had now come to dwell$ there 
was a famine, and Abraham never thought of re- 
turning to the country of h ; s- -imdred, which he had 
left in obedience to God. He would rather rifk his 
G 3 own 



*?* THE HISTORY (Xe£l. 6*. 

own life, and what was dearer to him than his life^ 
amongft ftrangers, than return to the country which 
God had commanded him to leave. Ruth would 
rather have been a gleaner of the ears of corn in 
the land of Ifrael, than a lady in the land of Moab* 
She had come to truft under the fhadow of the 
wings of Naomi's God ; and the meaneft eftate in 
the land where he was known, was preferable in 
her eyes to the highefl ilation in a land of idola- 
ters. 

Ruth does not propofe- that Naomi fliould go» 
with her to the field. She wifhed her honoured 
mother to enjoy the reft and eafe fuited to her time 
of life, whilit herfelf was expofed to the troubles 
and inconveniences of her humble occupation in the 
fields of ftrangers. Young perfons fhould be cheer- 
fally willing to bear fatigues and troubles for the 
fake of their aged parents, that they may enjoy 
fuc-h eafe as the infirmities of age require. Let 
thofe who are in the vigour of age, if their parents 
are feeble, remember what their mothers endured 
for them in infancy or in ficknefs, how they will- 
ingly fuffered anxiety of mind, the want of fleep, 
and many fatigues of body, that their beloved off- 
spring might enjoy pleafure, or be relieved from; 
diftrefs. How felfifh are the fpirits of thofe young 
perfons, who grudge toil or expenee for their pa- 
sen ts in that time of life when they can enjoy little 
pleafure but what arifes from beholding the affec- 
tionate attachment of their children. The charities 
of the heart fweeten life. A young woman cheer- 
fully labouring for aged parents, is far happier than 



Ch. II. 1, — 4.] OF RUTH. * W 

a fafhionable lady fpending In idlenefs and diflipa- 
tlon the fruits of the induftry of her anceftors. 

David, tire great grandfon of Ruth, mewed a like 
regard to his parents with that which Ruth (hewed 
to her mother-in-law. Jefle needed no provifion to 
be made by his children for his old age ; but he 
found himfelf under a necefhty of becoming an exile, 
to avoid the rage of the tyrant, whofe hatred to the 
fon of JefTe extended to all his friends. David was 
unwilling that his aged parents fhould mare in the 
toils and dangers of his wandering life ; and there- 
fore he fupplicated the king of Moab to afford 
them protection till he fhould know what God 
would do for him. In his diftreffes he wifhed not 
his parents to fhare, but refolved that they fhould 
mare in his profperity if they were fpared to fee 
it. 

And Jhe /aid unto her. Go, my daughter, Naomi 
was bleffed with the fame humble and kind difpo- 
fition with her daughter-in-law. Doubtlefs, it was 
a great grief to her that fhe could not place Ruth 
in a more comfortable and refpe&able condition 
among her own people ; but fince it was the will of 
God that they fhould live in poverty, and fubfift by 
the humblefl of occupations, fhe readily fubmits to 
his pleafure. Why mould we repine. at God's deal- 
ings with either ourfelves or our friends ? If God . 
has humbled them by his providence, we ought to 
be thankful if he has given them a fpirit fuited to 
their lot. If he has given them little, let us be 
thankful for that little. If he has given them no- 
thing, let us be thankful if he has given them, 
hands and an heart to work. Every thing, that God 

gives 



80 THE HISTORY [Left. 6. 

gives any of us, and every opportunity of obtaining 
what we need, is an undeferved mercy from the Gi- 
ver of all good. 

Go i my daughter. The affection of Ruth to Na- 
omi was not unmerited. Naomi loved and treated 
RutH as a daughter. The law of kindnefs was in 
her mouth, and transfufed gratitude and love into 
the heart of her daughter-in-law. Mothers often 
complain, with reafon, of the ingratitude of their 
children ; yet one of the reafons is frequently to be 
found at home. If there were more Naomis, we 
might expecl: to fee more Ruths. Undoubtedly, 
children owe affection and honour to their mothers, 
in whatever manner they behave. The relation, in- 
dependently of every other confideraticn, demands 
filial duty. But why fhould parents, by coldnefs or 
rudenefs to the fruit of their own bodies, provoke 
them to break the firft commandment with promife, 
to the prejudice of both themfelves and their chil- 
dren ? If it is the duty of children to honour their 
parents, it mult be the duty of parents to behave in 
fuch a way as to procure honour from their chil- 
dren. 

Some parents do much for their children, and put 
themfelves to a . great deal of trouble on their ac- 
count, and after all lofe the thanks which they 
might have, by the coldnefs, the bitternefs, the re- 
pulfive manner, 'with which they often fpeak to 
them. ** Is not a word better than a gift? but both 
are with a gracious man." Our Lord tells us, that 
by our words we mail be juftiiied and condemned \ 
and there is no place where our tongues ought to be 
better governed than in our own houfes. It is de- 
lightful 



Ch. 11. 1, 4."] OF RUTH. 81 

lightful to vifit thofe families where the various 
members appear, from their mutual converfe, intent 
upon making one another happy. It is painful to 
obferve ions and daughters, fathers and mothers, 
wives and hufbands, turning their common dwell- 
ing into a houfe of correction to one another. 

Ver. 3. — And fine went, and came, and gleaned in 
the field after the reapers ; and her hap was to light 
on a part of the field belonging unto Boa*, who was 
of the kindred of Klim el cch. 

There are fome whofe virtue and induflry lie 
only in their tongues. They fay, and do not. But 
Ruth was no lefs diligent in bufinefs, than wife in 
>her refolutions. When fhe obtained Naomi's leave, 
fhe went forth immediately to the field, and afked 
leave of a certain itewaru ^hc^l lh e met with ; *9. 
glean and gather after the reapers among the fheaves. 
This leave being readily granted her, fhe entered 
with cheer fulnefs upon her work, in which fhe con- 
tinued till the heat of the day compelled her to 
make ufe of a fhelter. 

Although Naomi had feveral relations at Bethle- 
hem, fhe did not defire Ruth to go to any of their 
fields. Not that fhe wanted confidence in their 
kindnefs, She was at leafl fenfible that Boaz had 
been a kind friend before fhe went to the country of 
Moab ; but fhe knew that her poverty gave her a 
right to fend Ruth to glean in the field of any of the 
Ifraelites, and fhe feems not to have wifhed to ap- 
pear tronblefome to her relations. Thofe are mofr. 
likely to meet with kindnefs from their rich friends, 
.who are leafl intrufive. 

It was the hap of Ruth to come into the field of 

Boaz ; 



*2 THE HISTORY [Led. 6, 

Boaz ; and her coming into his field, brought her 
into acquaintance with the man who was to be her 
hufband, and hy whom fhe was to become one of 
the mothers of our Lord. The mifery or happi- 
nefs of our life, is often derived from accidents that 
appear quite trivial. * 4 Time and chance happeneth 
to all men," and no man can tell what confequences 
the flighted accident may have. Connections hap- 
py or pernicious, riches or poverty, life or death, 
may be the confequence of a walk or a vifit intend- 
ed for the amufement of a fingle hour. 

It is plain that divine Providence was her con- 
ductor to the field of Boaz. Nothing is accidental 
to God. When the lot is caft into the lap, the dif- 
poling, the whole difpofing of it, is of the Lord, 
We are ever in hi* --hands, and he can bring the 
richeft benefits, or the foreft chaflifements, out of 
caufes from which we formed no apprehenfion, ei- 
ther of good or evil. 

" The fteps of a good man are ordered by the 
Lord, and he greatly delighteth in his way." The 
fame God that brought Ruth from Moab to Beth- 
lehem, led her to the field of Boaz for her good. 
He led her to the land of Ifrael, that fhe might be 
fully inftrucled in righteoufnefs. He led her to the 
field of Boaz, that her virtue might become confpi- 
cuous to a man who had it in his power and in his 
will to reward her. When Abraham's fervant went 
to take a wife to his fon from amongft his kindred, 
Abraham told him that the God before whom he 
walked would fend his angel to conduct him ; and 
the faithful fervant thankfully acknowledged that 
he had not been amafed with vain hopes* " I be- 



Ch. ii. 1, — 4.] OF RUTH. 83 

ing in the way, the Lord led me to the houfe of my 
matters brethren." All who are wife enough to 
.obferve the agency of Providence in the various ac- 
cidents of their lives, will find like reafon with 
Abraham's fervant to praife God for his goodnefs. 
We may indeed recoiled a variety of accidents that 
have proved hurtful, as well as others that have 
turned out beneficial to us. But to thofe who are 
taught to make a due improvement of what befals 
them, nothing is eventually hurtful. 4< There mall 
no evil happen to the jufL" The things that are 
evil to others are good to them. " All the paths of 
the Lord our God are mercy and truth to them that 
remember his covenant and his teftimonies." 

VtR. 4. — And behold Boa% came from Bethlehem, 
and [aid unto the reapers, The Lord $e with you. 
And they anfwered him, The Lord hlefs thee, 

,Boaz was an old man, and he had a ileward fet 
over the reapers. Yet he came from Bethlehem to 
fee with his own eyes how his work was perform- 
ed. When our Lord fays, u Take no thought what 
ye (hall eat or drink," or, as the words ought rather 
to have been rendered, Take no anxious thought 
what ye {hall eat or drink, he does not recommend 
indolence or carelelfoefs about our worldly bufiaefs. 
We mult feek fir ft the kingdom of God and his 
righteoufnefs, and then all other things £hall be add- 
ed to us ; but they mall be added to us whilft we 
are ufiag warrantable means to obtain them. "Be 
diligent," fays -Solomon, ik to know the ftate of thy 
flocks, and look well to thy herds." Slothfulnefs 
may be the ruin of men of princely fortunes, " for 

riches 



S4 THE HISTORY [Left. 6. 

riches are not for ever, and doth the crown endure 
unto all generations ?" 

Although Boaz was' a rich man, he defpifed not 
his man-fervants nor his maid- ferv ants. He did not 
look upon his reapers with a fupercilious eye. He 
did not come unto them with words of pride or re- 
proach, but with a biemng in his mouth. The 
Lord be with you. He was a good man, and there 
is no place where real goodnefs will more difplay it- 
felf than in a man's own family, not only to his 
wife and children, but likewife to his fervants. A 
good mailer will ba a father to his fervants when 
they faithfully perform their work. Such even 
Naaman, when he was an heathen, appears to have 
been ; and happy was it for himfelf that he had 
taught his fervants to look upon him as a father. 
Few parents have derived fuch benefits from the 
moft dutiful children as Naaman derived from the 
confidence and duty of his fervants, when they ad- 
vifed him to comply with the prophet's advice. 

Good men will pray for the bell bletlings to their 
neighbours around them, and efpecially to thofe of 
their own houfe. It has been often the happinefs 
of matters to be bleiled with praying fervants, and 
often the happinefs of fervants to have mailers 
whofe prayers brought down the biemng of heaven 
upon thofe who dwelt under their roof. 

The Lord be with you. This was a real prayer 
from the mouth of Boaz. It is too common with 
men to fay, u God be with you," when God is not 
in their thoughts. The name of God is profaned 
when it is ufed without confideration. It is report- 
ed of the great philofopher Boyle, that he never 

mentioned 






Ch.ii. 1,-4.] OF RUTH. 85 

mentioned the name of God without making a vi- 
able paufe in his difcourfe. Moll certainly none of 
us ought to mention fuch an. awful name without 
thinking of him who is called by it, or to feek any 
thing from him for ourfelves or others without ear- 
neft defires to obtain it, and without a becoming 
fenfe of our dependence upon him for all thofe good 
things which we wifh ourfelves or others to enjoy. 

All good things are requefted in this prayer, The 
Lord be with thee, God's prefence and favour will 
fatisfy our fouls, will fupply every want, will turn, 
forrow into joy, and the fliadow of death into the 
morning. But without God's prefence and bleffing, 
the richeft confluence of fublunary bleffings will 
leave us wretched and miferable, poor, and blind, 
and naked. The laborious reapers, whofe toils 
ended only with the fun, and were every day renew- 
ed, were iiappy beyond expreffion if their mailer's 
prayer was heard. The kings who reign over ma- 
ny lands know not what happinefs means, if they 
have nothing but what earth can bellow. " Many 
fay, Who will fhew us any good?" but few know 
what that good is which they mould conflantly feek 
to obtain. " Lord, lift up the light of thy counte- 
nance upon us," and our hearts will be filled with 
that gladnefs, which the men who have their portion 
in this life never taile, in the richefl abundance of 
their corn and wine. 

The Lord hlejs thee, faid the reapers to Boaz. 
They loved their mailer, they were grateful for his 
kindnefs, they prayed for the fame bleffings to him 
which he requeited for them. Mailers often com- 
plain of the felfiihnefs of their fervants, and the 
H complaint 



86 THE HISTORY [Left. 6. 

complaint is often too juft. But they muft be very- 
depraved men who are not faithful fervants and iin- 
cere friends to fuch mailers as Boaz. '* Even pu- 
blicans," fays our Lord, «* love thofe who love them* 
felves." 

The Lord he with you The Lord blefs thee. 

Such .were the petitions which the Kraelites were 
taught by God to prefent to his throne, for them- 
felves and for one another. The prieils were com- 
manded to pray for all the people in thefe words, 
" The Lord blefs thee, and keep thee. The Lord 
make his face to ftrine upon thee, and be gracious 
to thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon 
thee, and give thee peace." *' Grace be unto you, 
and peace," &lc or, " The grace of our Lord Jefus 
Ghrifl be with you all," is the prayer of Paul for 
all the churches. Chriftians are called to inherit a 
bleffing, and therefore they muft blefs and not curfe. 
They ought to blefs even thofe who curfe them- 
felves. It is God alone who can give the bleflings 
that we need ; but we are «boih required and abun- 
dantly encouraged to afk his bleflings, not only for 
ourfelves, but for our friends and neighbours, our 
kindred and fervants. He is the fountain of blef- 
lings. He fent his Son into the world to purchafe 
for us the belt bleflings. He hath promifed that 
men mall be bleffed in him, and that all generation 
fhali call him bleffed. 6< Afk, and ye mall receive.* 
Afk for your friends and dependents. You are not 
ilraitened in him who giveth liberally and upbraideth 
not. Afk his bleflings when you are upon your 
knees in your flated devotions. Seek them by ear- 
ueft afpirations when you are on your beds, when 

you 



t 



Ch. ii. 1, — 4.] OF RUTH. 87 

you are fitting in the houfe, when you are walking 
by the way, when you are employed in the bufi- 
neues of life. Never approach irreverently to the 
Divine Majefty. But where the fear of God habi- 
tually governs the heart, prayer need not, and will 
not, be confined to fiated times. Such requefts as 
thefe of Boaz and his fervants, if they are offered 
up to God in the name of Chrift, meet with a gra- 
cious audience, when the moil oftentatious devotions 
of the formalift are defpifed and abhorred. 



LEG 



*3 THE HISTORY [Lecl. 7- 



LECTURE VII. 



Chap. ii. 5, — 14. 



Ver. 5. —Then /aid Boaz unto his fervant that 
iv as fet over the reapers, Whofe damfel is this .* 

Jljl great man's houfe is different from 
an ordinary man's. There are fervants in it of dif- 
ferent llations. Boaz was a mighty man of wealth, 
and he had not only reapers, but a man fet over the 
reapers. Servants commonly need the eye of a ma- 
iler, or of one in the place of a mailer, to direct 
their work, to flimiilate induftry, to prevent or to 
remedy dnTenfion. Good fervants will be pleafed 
with proper fuperintendence, and bad fervants need 
it. 

Although Boaz had a 'faithful fteward to govern 
his reapers, he went himfelf to the field to fee how 
his work went on, and he was one of thofe happy 
mafters whom the fervants were happy to fee. 

When he faw the fields covered with plenty, he 
no doubt thought of the goodnefs of God, who had 
now vifited his people, and blefied them, after nine 

years 



Ch. ii. 5,— 14.] OF RUTH. m 

years of famine, with fruitful feafons. But his at- 
tention was foon engaged by a beauteous ftranger 
whom he faw employed in gleaning the ears of corn. 
He afked the fie ward who fhe was, not with an in- 
tention to check, but with an intention, if he found 
fhe deferved it, to give her encouragement. 

Ver. 6. And the fervant (that was fet over the 
reapers anfwered and /aid, It is the Moabitijh 
damfel that came back with Naomi out of the coun- 
try of Moab. 

The firft thing required in ftewards is, " that a man 
be found faithful" to his employer ; but it is alfo a 
good property in a fteward to be humane towards 
his lord's fervants, and towards ?il that have any 
dependence upon him for employment or favours. 
The man that was fet over the reapers of Boaz had 
already fhewed fnch favour to Ruth as it was the- 
part of a fteward to do, and, by his anfwer to his 
matter's queftion concerning her, he was a means of 
procuring her fuch favour as a fteward could not 
confer without permiffion. Words fitly fpoken may 
do much good, and indicate good fenfe and good dif- 
pofitions in the fpeaker. 

" It is the Moabitifh damfel that came with Na- 
omi." She was a Moabitefs, but fhe was well en- 
titled to all that refpeci which was due to the fe- 
males of Ifrael, when fhe came with Naomi from 
the country of Moab. The Moabites were not to 
enter into the congregation of the Lord until the 
tenth generation. Yet the children of Ifrael, when 
they came out of Egypt, were taught to refpecl: the 
Moabites as the children of Lot, the friend and dif- 
ciple of Abraham. They had exchanged the God 
H3 of 



90 THE HISTORY [Left. 7. 

of their father for Chemofh, but Boaz might rea- 
fonably pity them for their unhappy apoftafy, when 
he confidered that his own people were reclaimed 
from many like apoftafies by fuch extraordinary 
means as had not been employed with any other na- 
tion. But whatever might be thought of the de- 
generate race of the righteous Lot, Ruth was en- 
titled to high praife, when flie had left the gods of 
Moab to worftiip no other god but the God of If- 
rael. 

AU It is the Moabitifli damfel that came back with 
Naomi." Boaz was related to Naomi. He knew 
her worth, he pitied the unhappy reverfes of her 
fortune, and it was to be expected that he would 
look with a kindi. eye upon that Moabitifli damfel 
who had been hgf fon's wife, and who teftified fuch 
uncommon attachment to her mother-in-law, when 
the relation between them feemed to be diiTolved. 

It appears from thefe words of the fteward, that 
Boaz had heard of this Moabitifli damfel that came 
to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law. It is not to 
be doubted likewife, that he knew the poor circum- 
itances in which they returned. Why then did not 
Boaz, before this time, viiit Naomi, and endeavour 
to confole her in her afflictions, and to alleviate them? 
We cannot give a politive anfwer to this queftion* 
We can eafily fay, it was not owing to want of ge- 
nerofity and kindnefs in Boaz, ver. 20. Reafons 
might have hitherto hindered him which are not men- 
tioned, and which there was no occafion to mention. 
Perhaps Boaz, though full of good intentions, might 
be too dilatory in executing them. He certainly 
would not have fuffered either Naomi, or the 

Moabitifli 



Ch.ii. 5,-14.] OF RUTH. 91 

Moabitilh damfel, to be opprefled with the extremes 
of poverty, whilft he was able to fupply their need ; 
but good men have fometimes been too flow in exe- 
cuting their good intentions. 

Ver. 7. — And Jhe /aid, I pray you, let me glean 
and gather after the reapers among the Jheaves ; Jo 
Jhe came, and hath continued even from the morning 
until now, that Jhe tarried a little in the houje. 

The iteward informs his mailer, that the Moab- 
itilh damfel did not prefume to enter the field with- 
out leave alked and obtained. Nor did he apolo- 
gise to his mailer for granting her the liberty of 
gleaning. He did nothing but what the authority- 
given him by his mailer warranted him to do. As 
it is a fin for a judge to countenance a poor man in 
his caufe, it would be no lefs criminal in a He ward 
to bellow favours upon tha poor, without the con- 
fent of his mailer expreffed or underllood. But this 
fleward knew that Boaz did not wifti any poor per- 
fon to be excluded from gleaning in his fields, and 
leail of all a poor ilranger from the land of Moab, 
who had ftiewed fo llrong an attachment to Naomi, 
and to Naomi's God. 

" She hath continued from the morning even un- 
til now, that Ihe tarried a little in the houfe." The 
fteward commends her induilry in thefe words. She 
had continued bufy at her work from the morning 
till the heat, or fome other caufe, conilrained her 
for a little to take (helter in a houfe or Ihed, where 
it is probable the reapers relied at noon. The heat 
of the weather in the land of Ifrael would render it 
almoll impoflible to continue in harvell from morn- 
ing to night, expofed, without a fhelter, to the beams 

of 



92 THE HISTORY [Le&. 7. 

of the fun. Ruth had fpent no more time under 
covert, than was abfolutely neceffary for enabling her 
to return to her labours. Some of the moll ancient 
tranflations differ from our copies of the Bible, and 
fay that me had continued all day at her labour, 
without returning to her houfe, or enjoying any reft. 
She, was a true daughter of Jacob, who was fo care- 
ful of the flocks committed to him, that, without 
repining, he fufTered himfelf to be continued in the 
day-time by the heat, and in the night to be pierced 
by the chilling frofts. 

" It is vain to rife up early and lit up late, to eat 
the bread of forrows." We ought to confult our 
health in carrying on our labours, and not to make 
them a burden too heavy for us to bear. When co- 
vetous defires of gain induce men to overwork their 
powers, they facrifice their health to Mammon, 
whom they have chofen for their God. But Ruth 
was labouring for her mother as well as herfelf* 
Her love to Naomi would give her fpirits and 
ftrength to endure the heat of the climate. A 
reaper or a gleaner in the field, fuitaining toil or in- 
clement weather, to fuppOrt her aged parents," is 
worthy of more praife than a victorious general, who 
expofes himfelf to all the perils of battle, if his 
chief view is to gather laurels for himfelf. 

Ver. 8.— -Then /aid Boaz unto Ruth, Hearejl 
thou not, my daughter t Go not to glean in another 
field, neither go from hence, hut abide here fajl by my 
maidens. 

Boaz was glad to meet with the Moabitilh dam- 
fel that came with Naomi. He had already, we 
may prefume, intended to ihew her the kindnefs of 

God j 



Ch. ii. 5, — 14.] OF ruth. 93 

God ; and now, when Providence brought her into 
his prefence, he addrenes her in the language of 
kindnefs, " Hear me, my daughter." Ruth had 
left her father and her mother. She loll nothing. 
Naomi was become her mother, and Boaz. now 
fpeaks to her and treats her as a father. We may, 
without hefitation, leave thofe relations that are 
deareil and kindefl to us for God. " He that lea- 
veth father or mother for me," fays Chrift, " fhall 
receive an hundred fold more in this world, fathers 
and mothers, brethren and fillers." That lofs mull 
be great indeed which infinite Goodnefs cannot com- 
penfate. 

Go not to glean in another field y neither go from 
hence. This prohibition is full of love. The ex- 
preffion fignifies, that Boaz would take it highly 
amifs if ihe went to glean in any other field but his 
own. But it implies a promife, that me fhould find 
it her interefl to glean in his field. The tendereft 
love may be expreffed in the language of command, 
of prohibition, or even of threatening. Many o£ 
God's commandments and prohibitions are expref- 
fions of his excellent loving kindnefs. What can 
be more full of grace than the firil commandment 
of the moral law, " Thou fhalt have no other gods 
before me?" or Hofea's comment upon it, ** I am 
the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt ; and 
thou (halt know no God but me, for there is no Sa- 
viour befides me ?" When God commands us to 
trull in himfelf alone, and threatens us with his dif- 
pleafure if we place our confidence any where elfe, 
does he not tell us that we fhall find it our highell 
interell to trull in him ? 

Alide 



94 THE HISTORY [Left. % 

Abide fajl by my maidens. Young women, if 
they are wife, will ordinarily chme their compa- 
nions from amongft their own fex. Ruth was a 
modeft woman, and would be glad to find a virtu- 
ous woman with whom fhe might affociate in the 
field of Boaz. There were men employed with 
them in the labours of the harveft, but Ruth hai 
nothing to apprehend either from the male or fe 
male fervants of this good man, who ruled his fa. 
mily in the fear of the Lord. 

Ver. 9. — Let thine eyes be on the field that they 
do reap, and go thou after them ; have I not char- 
ged the young men that they Jhall not touch thee ? 
and when thou art athirji t go unto the vejjels and 
drink of that which the young men have drawn. 

Whilft Ruth was to keep by the young women, 
and go after them, fhe had no reafon to dread the 
young men. Young men, in any flation of life, 
are often, by their rudenefs or licentioufnefs, the 
terror of modeft young women ; but Boaz would 
allow of no indecency in words or converfation 
amongft his fervants. A good man will not only 
refrain from doing or fpeaking evil, but will reftfain 
all that depend on him from licentious or rude be- 
haviour. Paul will have none to be admitted to 
the office of elders in the church, who do not rule 
well their own houfes. Not that it is a duty incum- 
bent on elders only to keep their families in due 
fubje&ion, but becaufe elders mull be exemplary in 
every thing worthy of praife. We are all account- 
able for thofe evils which it was in our power to 
have prevented. 

Have not I charged the young men ? fays Boaz to 

Ruth. 



Ch. ii. 5,— -14.] OF ruth, 95 

Ruth. He knew the heart of a ftranger. She 
might think that me flood expofed, as a fojourner 
from Moab, to thofe infults to which a ftranger from 
Ifrael might be expofed in her own country. " We 
have heard of the pride of Moab. He was ex- 
ceeding proud ;" and, as wickednefs proceedeth from 
the wicked, infolence and abufive treatment may be 
expected from the proud. But if Ruth had any 
fears of this kind, Boaz puts an end to them. It is 
an office of humanity to comfort thofe that are call 
down, and to difpel every uneafy apprehenfion from 
the mcdefl and timorous. A man of fenfibility 
knows, in fome meafure, what is pafling within the 
breail of his poor neighbour, and will, by his words, 
uphold him that is falling, and confirm the feeble 
knees. 

We do not live in a country fo fruitful as the 
land of Ifrael. Our fields are not like the fields of 
Bethlehem or Ephratah, which received their names 
from the fruitfulnefs of the foil. Yet every place 
has its advantages, as well as its difadvantagcs. We 
are better fcored with water than that land which 
flowed with milk and honey. It was no fmall fa- 
vour to Ruth, that Boaz invited her, whenever ihe 
was thirfty, to go and drink of the water which his 
young men had drawn. Thirft would fometimes be 
alraotl intolerable to labourers in the field under the 
fcorching heat of the fun in Paleitine. When Ruth 
felt the heat of noon, ihe might fay, as one of her 
lefcendents did on another occafion, '* O that one 
would give me to drink of the water of the well of 
Bethlehem !" Bat her willies are prevented. Her 
coufiderate friend gives her a general invitation to 

drink 



96 THE HISTORY [Left. 7. 

drink whenever fhe found it neceffary, of the water 
provided for his own fervants ; or, if they had any- 
thing better than water to quench their thirft, fhe 
was welcome to a fhare. 

Ver. 10 — Then Jhe fell on her face, and lowed 
herfelf to the ground, and f aid unto him, Why have 
I found grace in thine eyes, that thou Jhouldfl take 
knowledge of me, feeing I am ajlranger ? 

What had Boaz done for Ruth that fhe falls down 
on her knees, and thanks him for his favours in lan- 
guage expreffive of fuch warm gratitude ? He had 
allured her of his protection. He had invited her 
to gather the gleanings of his corn, and to drink of 
his water. What would fhe have faid had he invi- 
ted her to partake, as he afterwards did, of all his 
wealth ? And what thanks do we give to Him who 
invites us to come and buy wine and milk from 
him, without money and without price ? Boaz made 
Ruth welcome to drink of the water of one of the 
wells of Bethlehem. Jems fays, " If thou kneweft 
the gift of God, and who it is that faith unto thee, 
Give me to drink, thou wouldit alk, and he would 
give thee living water, the water of which, when 
a man drinks, he fhall thirft no more." 

Ruth thought herfelf greatly honoured by the at- 
tentions of Boaz. She was a ft ranger and foreigner, 
an alien to the commonwealth of Ifrael, and did not 
reckon herfelf entitled to any kindnefs from the people 
of the Lord. Perhaps fhe did not yet know how 
kindly the laws of Ifrael required them to treat 
ftrangers. The children of Ifrael had themfelves 
been ftrangers for many generations in the land of 
Egypt, and w r ere required to fhew that kindnefs to 

ftrangers 



€h. ii. 5, — 14.] OF RUTH. #T* 

Grangers which they would have gladly received from 
the people amongft whom they fojourned. Boaz, 
above all other Ifraelites at that time, might be ex- 
pected to treat foreign women with favour ; for his own 
mother had been not only a ftranger, but one of the 
accurfed nation of Canaan ; and yet there w r as not aa 
Ifraelitefs entitled to more refpecl, for me was fa- 
mous, and deferved to b<? famous to all generations, 
.both for her faith and her good works. 

Moft men and women entertain too hisrh notions. 
of themfelves, becaufe they think with complacen- 
cy on thofe qualities that feem to entitle them to 
consideration, but overlook thofe which dimmifh 
their own value. Ruth almoft forgot her own vir- 
tues. She thought (he had done no more than it 
was her duty to do, if fhe did fo much, when fl?e 
attended Naomi into the land of Ifrael ; but me? re- 
membered that me was a ftranger, that fhe had been 
hitherto a worfhipper of ftrange gods, and might 
have continued fo till the end. of her life, if God 
had not fent fome of his people to guide her feet 
into the way of truth. 

Remembering what fhe had been, fhe received 
ordinary favours with a warm fenfe of gratitude. 
The humble are always difpofed to be thankful, and 
therefore they are always happy. When men are 
f welled with iuch a fenfe of their own merit, that 
they think themfelves entitled to every thing, they 
will never be pleafed* If you give them f/nall 
prefents, they will think you defraud them of their 
due, becaufe you do not give them rich prefents ; if 
you give them rich prefents, they think that thev 
are entitled to all that they have received, and tmv 
I uj re< 



98 THE HISTORY [Left. 7. 

more. But you can fcarcely difpleafe the humble 
man, becaufe he thinks any thing better than he de- 
ferves. He enjoys peace in his own bofom, becaufe 
his expectations are feldom difappointed. He ac- 
quires the good- will of all around him, becaufe he 
is thankful for the fmalleft favours, and not dhTatis- 
£ed when he meets with none. 

Ver. 11. — And Boaz aufwered and /aid unto her, 
It hath fully heenjhewed me, all that thou hajl done 
unto thy mother-iri-law Jince the death of thine huf- 
hand, and Iovj thou hajl lejt thy father and thy mo- 
ther, and the land of thy nativity, and art come un- 
to a people which thou knewejl not heretofore. 

* 4 Let another praife thee, and not thyfelf." Ruth 
fhewed no" difpofition to praife herfelf. She did not 
claim a right to glean from what ihe had done for 
Naomi, but wondered that fuch kindnefs fhould be 
fhewed by Boaz to her who was a flranger ; and (he 
hears the voice of praife from the mouth of one 
whofe commendations were a very great honour. 
No faying was oftener in the mouth of Jefus than 
this, " He that exalteth himfelf ihall be abafed, 
and he that humbleth himfelf fhall be exalted." 

Nothing can be meaner than flattery addreffed ei- 
ther to the rich or poor, but it may frequently be 
proper to praife thofe who deferve to be praifed. 
Our Lord praifes his difciples, when he tells them 
that they were the men who had continued with him 
in his temptations. Paul often commends the Chri- 
ftians to whom he wrote his entitles, although he 
never failed to remind them that they were indebted 
to the grace of God for all that was worthy of praife 
in their conduct or temper. Boaz commended Ruth, 

not 



Ch. ii. 5, — 14.] of ruth. 09 

not to infpire her with vanity, but to animate her 
refolution, to comfort her dejected fpirit, and to en- 
courage her to ufe thofe freedoms which he wifhed 
her to ufe with himfelf, and with other Ifraelites. 

" It hath been fully made known to me what 
thou haft done to thy mother-in-law." Ruth little 
expected that her behaviour would be reported to 
any great man in the land of Ifrael. She did no 
more than fhe apprehended to be her duty to fuch a 
kind and pious mother-in-law. If her behaviour 
pleafed God, and her own conference, and Naomi, 
fhe was well fatisfied, although no other perfon ever 
heard of it. As fome mens fins are open, going be- 
fore-hand unto judgment, fo are the good works o£ 
others. " Take heed," fays our Lord, u of the 
leaven of the Pharifees, which is hypocrify ; for 
there is nothing covered that mail not be revealed, 
nor hid that mail not be known." Although we 
are not to do our works to be feen or to be reported 
by men, yet we ought to provide things honefl in 
the fight of all men that fee, or that may hear of 
our behaviour. Our works will all be known at 
the lafl day, and more of them, perhaps, than we 
think, before the laft day* Let us beware of any 
thing in private, that would diflionour our name and 
our profeilion if it were known to the world. Ruth 
found, at this conference with Boa?., the truth of 
what one of her defcendents teaches us, that *' a 
good name is better than precious ointment, and lo- 
ving favour better than lilver and gold." 

It hath been fully Jh ewe d me all that thou hajl 
done unto thy mother-in-law Jince the death vf thy 
hujband. Many who are connected by affinity,. 

think 



J 00 TtfE HISTORY [Left. 7. 

think- that no more duties remain to be performed, 
when the bond of conne&ion is broken, bv the 
death of that hufband or wife on whom the rela- 
tion depended. Naomi and Ruth were of a diffe- 
rent fpirit. Naomi never could forget Ruth's kind- 
ftefs to her fon. Ruth teftified her regard to the 
memory of her deceafed hufband, by her attentions 
to his mother. She not only did U good, and not 
evil," to her huiband, u all the days of his life,'* 
but fhe did all the good fhe could to him when he 
was dead, by performing thofe fervices to his mo- 
ther which he would gladly have performed, if he 
had been iliU alive. This part of her behaviou* 
endeared her to Boaz. He was charmed with the 
amiable manners of Ruth, and thought himfelf 
highly indebted to her for her goodnefs to the mo- 
ther of his friend Mahlon. The apoflle John tef* 
tifted his afFeclion to his departed Lord, by taking 
his mother to his own houfe, and treating her as a 
mother. There are kindnenes due to the dead as 
well as to the living ; and in thefe, a generous fpi- 
rit will be careful not to fail. 

Ver. 12. — The Lord recompenfe thy work, and a 
full reward be given thee of the Lord God of IfraeJ, 
under whofe wings thou art come to truji, 

Ruth's kind and good behaviour to her mother- 
in-law deferved much praife, but there was another 
part of her behaviour entitled to ftill higher com- 
mendation. She came to truft under the wings of the 
Lord God of Ifrael. Her humanity was confecrated 
by piety, her kindnefs to her friends was fan&iiied 
by her faith in God. Thofe labours of love are 

truly 



Ch. ii. 5, 14.] OF RUTH. 101 

truly acceptable to God, which proceed from a re- 
gard to his own name, Heb. vi. 10. 

T: living God was exhibited to the faith of his 
ancient people, as the God who dwelt between the 
cherubims that fpread their wings over the mercy- 
feat, the throne of his grace. It was perhaps in al- 
lufion to this fymbol of God's relidence amongft his 
people, that thofe who fought protection from him 
were faid to truft under the fh ,dow of his wings. 
" He that dwelleth in the fecret place of the Molt' 
High, (hall abide under the ihadow of the Almigh- 
ty. His feathers mall cover thee ; under his wings 
malt thou trull ; his faitlifulnefs mall be thy fhiekL 
and buckler." 

By a figure lefs elevated, but not lefs iignificant 
and confolatory, our Lord teaches us the happinefs- 
of them that trail in him, and the riches of his own 
grace and condefcenlion. u How often would I 
have gathered thee, as an hen gathereth her chick- 
ens under her wings !" 

Ruth came to trull under the wings of the LorcL 
God of Ifrael. She had heard of hirn in her own 
country, and left it to dwell in another where he 
was well known, and where he gave his people fig~ 
nal proofs of his protection. The name of the 
Lord was fo dear to her, that fhe left her kindred, 
and her father's houfe, to enjoy a place amongft his 
people. How inexcufable are we, if we do not 
make the Lord our refuge, when we were born in a 
land blefled with the knowledge of him, baptifed 
in his name, and trained up to know and ferve him ! 
If a Moabitefs came'to trull under the wings of the 
Lord God of Ifrael, how ihameful was it in If- 
I 3 raelites 



102 «ffi ifisTORY [Left. 1, 

faelites riot to know and truft the God by whofe 
name they were called ? And rt is he the God of the 
Jews only ? is he not the God of the Gentiles alfo," 
who juftifles the uncireumcifion through the fame 
faith in Chrift by which he juftified the circumci- 
lion ? 

The Lord recompenfe thy work, and a full recom- 
pense he given thee of the Lord God of IfraeL The 
Lord God of Ifrael is the God and Father of our 
Lord Jefus Ghrift, in whom he is well pleafed. 
Through him he accepts our perfons, through him 
he accepts our works, and records them with tefli- 
monies of his favour worthy of his rich grace. Our 
bell works have no merit in them. We are but un- 
profitable fervants when we have done all that is 
commanded us - f but we ferve a liberal Mafter, who 
takes pleafure in uprightnefs, and beholds our 
meaneft endeavours to ferve him with a pleafant. 
countenance* 

Thofe acts of kindnefs which we perform to 
men with no higher views than their or our own 
advantage, cannot be accepted of God as fervices to 
himfelf. When no regard is entertained for his 
will and his glory, there is an effential defe£t in our 
performances. If men are the higheft object of our 
regard in the good things we do, from men let u» 
expect our reward ; but God is not unrighteous, to 
forget our works and labours of love done for the 
name of Chrift. He will reward them above what 
we can aik or think. 

Boaz- prays to God for the gracious reward of her 
works of love, and by this prayer encouraged her 
to perfevere in that confidence which was to be 

crowned 



: 



Ch. ii. 5,-14.] OF RUTtt. 103 

crowned with a full recompenfe, tt Call not away 
your confidence," fays Paul, <<r which hath great re- 
compenfe of reward." To have refpeft to the re- 
compenfe of reward, was not unworthy of the faith 
of Mofes, or even of the faith of Chrift himfelf, 
* 4 who, for the joy that was fet before him, endured 
the crofs, defpifing the lhame.'' 

" It is our defire," fays the apoftle, '* that whe- 
ther prefent or abfent, we may be accepted of him." 
And we defire not only that our own works, but 
that the good works of our friends and brethren 
may be rewarded. Boaz intended to reward the 
work of Ruth by his own generous treatment of 
her^ but great as his power was, her good works 
went beyond it. The rewards that the richeft and 
greateft men can confer for fervices done to them- 
felves or to their friends, are not to be compared 
with the gracious rewards bellowed by God on the 
meaneft of his fervants, for the meanell fervice. 
" Whofoever," fays our Lord Jefus Chrift, ** be- 
llows but a cup of water on a difciple in the name 
of a difciple, (hall in no wife lofe his reward." 

Ver. 13 Then Jhe /aid, Let me find favour in 

thy fight, my lord j for that thou hafi comforted me 9 
and for that thou hafi. fpeken friendly unto thine 
handmaid, though I he not like unto one of thine 
handmaidens, 

Ruth was fo far from thinking herfelf entitled to 
any recompenfe from God,- that lhe thought it an 
aft of unmerited goodnefs in Boaz to take any no- 
tice of her. The Lord hath refpecl; to the lowly, 
and he ufually gives them favour in the fight of 
men alfo,. Rutfr did not reckon berfelf like one of 

the 



104 THE HISTORY [Left. % 

the handmaidens of Boaz, and Boaz thought her 
worthy of his bed. Happy are they who are dif- 
pofed to think their neighbours better than them- 
felves. They are free from thofe flings of difcon- 
tent and envy whi-:h torture the hearts of the vain 
and proud. They preferve themfelves from thofe 
variances and ftrifes which are the bane of focial 
life. They endear themfelves to thofe with whom 
they are connected in fociety. They procure many 
favours and kindneffes which are doubly pleafant to 
them, beeaufe they did not think themfelves enti- 
tled to them. u By humility, and the fear of the 
Lord, are riches, and honour, and life." 

" Let me find grace in thy fight, my lord ; for 
that thou haft comforted me, and haft fpoken friend- 
ly unto thine handmaid." Pleafant words are like 
an honey- comb, fweet to the foul. Thofe words 
which at once indicate friendfhip and nourifh piety, 
are doubly pleafant. Boaz had not only exprefled 
his affection and efteem to Ruth, but raifed her 
views to the Lord God of Ifrael, from whom he 
encouraged her to expecl: her reward. His words 
were no lefs valued by her than his gifts. Words 
are cheap to ourfelves, and they maybe very preci- 
ous to thofe to whom they are addrefled, efpecially 
to thofe who need our fympathy. Job, by his 
words, inflrucled many, and ftrengthened the weak 
hands. Let us follow his example, but remember 
that we ought to do it, not only in the words of our 
mouth, but in the temper of our minds and in the 
works of our hands. We muft "love, not in word 
and in tongue only, but in deed and in truth." Such 
was the love of Boaz to Ruth. Such is the love of 

' all 



Ch. ii. 5, — 14.] of ruth. 105 

all the followers of Him who loved us and gave 
himfelf for us. 

Ver. 14 And Roa% faid unto her > At meal-time 

come thou hither ', and eat of the bread, and dip thy 
morfel in the vinegar* And Jhe fat befide the reap' 
ers ; and he reached her parched corn, and Jhe did 
eat^ and was fujfficed^ and left. 

All that Ruth expe&ed or requefted, was leave 
to glean ; but fhe was invited, when {he was la- 
bouring for herfelf, to eat of the mailer's bread, 
and to dip her morfel in the vinegar provided for 
the reapers. In the houfe of Boaz, there was 
bread enough, and to fpare. His reapers were not 
fo Hinted in their provifion, as to have nothing to 
afford to an unexpected vifitant. Boaz was none of 
thofe men who fay, " Shall I take my bread and my 
water, which I have provided for my fhearers," or 
my bread and vinegar which I have provided for 
my reapers, and give them to a ftranger ? He had 
a large eflate, and a large heart. He truly enjoy- 
ed the liberalities of Providence, becaufe he took 
pleafure in diftributing what God had given him> 

Boaz was not afbamed to eat his morfel with his 
reapers. He made them happy in his company, and 
himfelf happy, by diffufing cheerfulnefs around 
him. We mull not judge of Boaz by thofe laws 
and cuftoms of fociety, which regulate the behavi- 
our of fuch as do not wifh to appear lingular amongft 
ourfelves. 

He gave to Ruth of the parched corn with his 
own hands, and fhe did eat and was fufficed. Ruth 
wondered at his goodnefs to her who was a ftran- 
ger, and not like one of his own handmaidens ; but 

flie 



106 THE HISTORY [Left. 7. 

me was not happier in receiving than Boaz in gi- 
ving, fince our Lord fpake truth when he faid, 4< It 
is more blefled to give than to receive." 

Let us do good to all men, efpecially to them 
that are of the houfehold of faith, and moil of all 
to thofe of the houfehold of faith who Hand in 
greater! need of our kindnefs, to whom we are 
bound by particular connections to fliew our friend- 
ship, and to thofe who are moll difpofed to be 
thankful to God and man for the favours they re- 
ceive. At the day of judgment we will find, that 
every office of love performed to the meaneil of the 
followers of Chriit, has been performed to himfelf. 



LEC 



Ch. ii. 15, 23.] OF RUTH; 



107 



LECTURE VIII. 



Chap. ii. 15, — 23, 



Ver. 15. — And when Jhe was rifen tip to glean^ 
Boa* commanded his young men, faying, Let her 
glean, even among the Jheaves, and reproach her 
not. 

In the fweat of thy face," faid God to 
fallen man, " thou malt eat bread." For our fins 
we muft toil ; but, through the mercy of God, our 
toil is fweetened by intervals of reft and of refrefh- 
ment from food and fieep. Ruth eats her meal, 
and then rifes to glean till the evening, when lne 
goes home to enjoy the reft and fleep of the night, 
made doubly pleafant to her by the labours of the 
day. Let not labourers complain, but let them 
confefs, that the toils they endure are too well de- 
ferred, and let them blefs God that their days do 
not pafs on in an uninterrupted labour. 

" She rofe up to glean." In the morning fhe 
came with, perhaps, an anxious mind to the field, 

uncertain 



JOB THE HISTORY * [Left. S. 

uncertain What reception me might meet with, ei- 
ther from the mafter of the field, or from his fer- 
vants. She rofe to her new labours with pleafm-e, 
when me found herfelf not only allowed to glean, 
but commended for her virtuous conduct, and re- 
commended to the "mercy of the God whom fhe 
<came to ferve, by the prayers of fuch a venerable 
man as Boaz. Let us hold the path of duty, what- 
ever it is. If it is attended with toils and anxie- 
ties, comforts will fpring up when we are not ex- 
pecting them, to folace our labours. 

Bbaz did every thing that he promifed to Ruth, 
and more than he promifed. He gave a charge to 
his young men to fuffer her to glean among the 
{heaves, and forbade them to reproach her for her 
country, her poverty, her mean occupation ; or to 
infinuate any fufpicions of her honefty, whilft me 
was gleaning among the fheaves. 

The permiflion of gleaning among the fheaves 
would not have been granted to Ruth, if her cha- 
racter had not raifed her above fufpicion. Are you 
poor ? take care to avoid every appearance of dif- 
honefty. A good character is the eftate of the 
poor. A reputation for honefty will procure you 
employment and bread. Are you rich ? do not 
caufelefsly fufpect the poor, that you may not de- 
prive them of that which is no lefs valuable to them 
than to yourfelves — a good name. It is of more 
importance to them than to you,becaufe their fub- 
fiftence depends upon it. Why fhould you deprive 
your indigent brother of his only refource ? 

Reproach her not, faid Boaz to his fervants. Ill- 
taught fervants are too often difpofed to fport with 

the 



Ch.ii. 15, — 23."] OF RUTH. I®$ 

the feelings or the character of ftrangers, or of their 
own indigent countrymen. Why fhould they who 
are themfelves in a dependent condition, add to the 
diftrefs of thofe who are Hill lower in condition 
than themfelves ? It affords them amufement, per- 
haps, to make thole uneafy who cannot avenge 
themfelves ; but would it not give them more plea- 
fure to alleviate diftrefs by words of kindnefs, than 
to aggravate it by fcom and petulance ? Is it more 
pleafant to us to make our poor neighbours unhap- 
py, than to gladden their hearts ? How then dwell- 
eth the love of God in us ? 

Ver. 16 And let fall alfo fame of the handful* 

of purpofe for her, and lewoe them, that foe may 
glean them, and rebuke her not. 

Why did not the good man rather make her a 
prefent at once out of his floor and wine-prefs, than 
order handfuls of barley to be dropt for her glean- 
ing ? He delighted to behold her induftry, and wifti- 
ed to encourage it. Charity, wifely directed, will 
not tempt the poor to be idle. Habitual idlenefs is 
not confident either with virtue or happinefs. 

" Leave handfuls on purpofe for her." The fer- 
vants of Boaz could not have left handfuls to be 
gleaned by the pooreft perfon in the country, with- 
out dimonefty, unlefs their mafler had. commanded 
them. When they received commandment, it 
would have been difhoneft not to have done it. The 
Lord, who hates robbery for burnt- offering, will not 
allow fervants in great houfes to give away what is 
not theirs to the poor. They mull have the per- 
miuion of their mailers or rniftreiTes to do good to 
the poor, unlefs they do it at their own expence ; 
K. and, 



HO THE HISTORY [Left. 8. 

and, having received this permiflion, it would be in- 
jurious both to the poor and to their matters, to 
withhold what is allotted to thofe who need. 

And rebuke her not. Boaz was very careful to 
prevent any infuit from being offered to the virtu- 
ous ftranger. He no doubt knew, that matters were 
in fome degree accountable for the conduct of their 
fervants, and that they fhared in the guilt of thofe 
faults which they did not care to prevent or to cor- 
rea. 

Rebuke her not^ as if Jne ufed too much free- 
dom. Wound not her feelings, by reproaches of 
that poverty which f witti to relieve. God gives 
liberally, and upbraids not. Let us be followers of 
him as dear children. 

Ver. 17. — So Jhe gleaned in the field until even, 
and beat out that Jhe had gleaned ; and it was about 
an ephah of barley. 

u Man goeth forth to his labour, until the even- 
ing." The day is the feafon of labour, and the night 
of repofe for our race, except that part of mankind 
■who chufe rather to follow the example of the 
beafts of prey, whofe feafon of action and enjoj. - 
ment is the night, becaufe their works mutt be in 
the dark. 

When you are fatigued with the labours of the 
day, confider that the night is not far diftant, when 
you may hope to enjoy that delicious (leep^ which 
is almoft a recompenfe for your toils. Idle men, 
though they feed upon dainties, tofs upon their beds 
from night till morning ; but '* the lleep of the la- 
bouring man is fweet, whether he eat little or much." 
Ruth no doubt longed to fee Naomi after her con- 
vention 



Ch.ii. 15,-23.] of-:;, HI 

verfation with Bo'az, tha be wig} gladden 
heart of her beloved mother., and pour her own 
grateful fenfatio:is into her botom But there is a 
time for going forth to labour, and a time for re- 
turning from labour, and the wife will endeavour 
to do every thing in its proper feafon. Their rea- 
fon,*and not the impulfe of the moment, will regu- 
late their hours. 

"In the evening, ine beat out that me had glean- 
ed, and it was about an ephah of barley j" about a 
firlot of our meafure. The Lord blefTed her induf- 
try, by difpofing Boaz to mew kindnefs to her. 
Labourers are not ordinarily to exped fuch uncom- 
mon interpositions of Providence in their favour ; 
but when they are able, by their induftry, to pro- 
cure the neceffaries, and a few of the comforts of 
life for themfelves, and for their beloved relations, 
it will be owing to their own thanklefs difpofitions 
if they are not happy. If riches were necefTary to 
happinefs, the Almighty mufl have doomed to mi- 
fery the greater! part of mankind. But we are the 
makers of our own mifery, when we prefcribe to 
the Mo ft High what he fhall do for us. 

Ver. 18. — And Jhe took it up, and went into the 
city , and her mother-in-law J aw what Jhe had glean- 
ed ; and Jhe brought forth, and gave to her that Jhe 
had refervtd after Jhe w as Jufficed, 

It is no lefs necefTary to be careful of the fruit 
of our labours, than to labour with diligence. 
Chrift himfelf, who could multiply bread at his 
pleafure, commanded the fragments of the barley 
loaves and fifties to be gathered up, that nothing 
might be loft. " In all labour there is profit," 

fays 



112: THE HISTORT [Le£t. 8, 

fays the wife man ; yet there are fome that labour 
for the wind. They lofe what they have wrought, 
becaufe they fufTer it, through their carelefifnefs, to 
flip through their fingers. This folly, ho\vever, is 
much lefs frequent in things relating to the hody, 
than in thofe which relate to the foul. There is a 
greater number of perfons who deferve reprehenfion 
for immoderate folieitude to fecure their property, 
than of that flothful generation who will not be at 
the trouble of roatiing - what they have taken in 
hunting, or of carrying home what they have reap- 
ed in the fields. Yet fome need admonition to ma- 
nage their worldly affairs with difcretion ; but it is^ 
far more needful to be careful that we lofe none of 
thofe things which we have wrought in the fervice 
of God, for the benefit of our fouls, but that we re- 
ceive a full reward. 

Her mother-in-law faw, and faw with joy, what 
Jhe had gleaned, Doubtlefs, it was a feaft to the 
heart of Ruth to obferve the pleafure which bright* 
ened Naomi's countenance, when fhe faw haw God 
had bleffed her induftry. Young perfons, be in- 
duftrious, frugal, virtuous, if you denre to give 
pleafure to the father that begat you, and to her 
that bare you. In their declining years they need 
fuch comfort. If you withhold it, the time wilt 
come when the pain which you gave them will be 
doubled to yourfelves. 

And Jhe brought forth, and gave to her that Jhe 
had referred after Jhe was fufficed. When Boaz 
gave her a liberal portion of the food prepared for 
himfelf and his reapers, it was not expected that 
what fhe left ihould be returned, but it was to be 

carried 



Ch. ii, 15,-— 23.] OF RUTH. 113 

carried home for future ufe ; and now me brought 
it forth for the ufe of Naomi, between whom and 
Ruth every thing was common. The poor ftranger 
had now, by the bleffing of God, and the kindnefs 
of Boaz, bread enough and to fpare. Happy changes 
can foon be effected by the good providence of God, 
in that condition which appeared forlorn. " The 
Lord giveth food to the hungry," and he gives it in 
fuch quantities, and of fuch a kind, and in fuch 
ways as he pleafes. u Thofe who trull in him, and 
do good, mall dwell in the land, and verily they 
lhall be fed." 

Ver. 19 And her mother-in-law /aid unto her, 

Where haft thou gleaned to day ? and where wrought- 
eft thou f blejjed be he that did take knowledge of 
thee And Jhe Jhewed her mother-in-law with whom 
Jhe had wrought, and faid 9 The man's name with 
whom I wrought to-day is Boaz. 

The friendly converfe of thofe members of a fa- 
mily, whofe hearts are knit together in love, affords 
a pleafure which fweetens a dinner of green herbs, 
and renders it more delicious to the tafte, than " a 
Hailed ox, where love is wanting." Naomi afks of 
- Ruth where fhe had wrought, that (he might have 
the pleafure of knowing who the friendly man was 
that had taken knowledge of her beloved daughter. 
Ruth had no reafon to conceal that kindnefs which. 
had been (hewed her beyond her expectation. They 
enjoyed the feaft of friendfhip, and the flow of foul, 
with a keener relifh than the gayeil and wealthieil 
domeitic circle in Bethlehem. 

Blejjfed be he that did take knowledge of thee. 

Naomi defired to know where Ruth had wrought, 

K 3 that 






114 THE HISTORY [Left. &, 

that me might know her benefa&or, and make fuch 
recompenfes to him as were in her power, by prayer 
to God on his behalf. Before fhe knows his name y 
ihe prays for blefSngs to him. Her heart overflow- 
ed with gratitude, and out of the abundance of her 
heart her mouth fpake. This is one reafon why we 
ought to do good to thofe efpecially who are of the 
houfehold of faith. They are all praying perfons, 
and their prayers are heard by the God who loves 
them. " He is a prophet," faid God to Abimelech* 
concerning Abraham, " he is a prophet, and he 
mail pray for thee." Abimelech thought his pre- 
fents well bellowed upon a man who could pray for 
him with acceptance. But, through the name of 
Chriil, all believers, though they are not prophets, 
have confidence towards God ; " for whatfoever," 
fays our Redeemer, " ye alk in my name, I will do 
it for you." 

Naomi was told that the man T s name was Boaz^ 
and immediately called to mind what kindneffes her 
family had received from him in times pall. 

Ver. 20. — -And Naomi /aid unto her daughter in- 
law, Bleffed be he of the Lord^ who hath not left off 
his kindnefs to the living and to the dead. And 
Naomi /aid unto her^ The man is near of kin unte 
»j, one of our next kinfmen. 

Bleffed be he of the Lord. Naomi had already 
prayed for a blefling upon him, without knowing 
who he was ; and (he prays again for a bleffing to 
him from the Lord, when his name was mentioned, 
It put her in mind of former favours, which fhe 
had not forgotten, although her difirefles, engrof- 
fipg her mind, had hindered her from thinking of 

them. 



Ch.ii. 15,— 23.] of ruth. 115 

them. A grateful heart will never forget kind- 
neffes received from men, far lefs will a truly thank- 
ful foul forget the former loving-kindnefies of the 
Lord. " Blefs the Lord, O my foul •> forget not 
any of his benefits." 

He hath not left off his hindnejs to the living and 
to the dead. He had been a fleady friend to Elime- 
lech and Mahlon, and he dill continued a firm friend 
to Elimelech's widow, to the mother and relicl of 
Mahlon. Nothing is more common in the world 
than ficklenefs in friendship ; but that man only de- 
fences the name of a friend, who loveth at all times, 
in adverfity as well as in profOerity, in death as well 
as in life. We fin againft God, as well as againft 
men, when we caufelefsly forfake our own or our 
father's friend. All our profeffions and promifes 
are marked in his book. 

One great caufe of our grief for the death ,of our 
friends is, that they are removed beyond the reach 
of our kindnefs. But they are not wholly incapa- 
ble of receiving teftimomes of our friendfliip, if they 
have left beloved relations behind them, to whom 
we can fhew our regard. David could recompense 
Jonathan's kindnefs to himfelf, when his generous 
friend was in heaven with the angels of God. Al- 
though our Lord left our world aimoft eighteen 
hundred years ago, we can Hill teflify our love to 
him by our kindnefs to his brethren and fillers on 
earth. 

" Bleffed be he of the Lord ; for he hath not left 
off his kindnefs to the living and to the dead." Na- 
omi could not reward Boat, but me knew who could 
and would reward every aft of kindnefs done to 

her. 



116 THE HISTORY [Left, 8. 

her. Her prayers to God for Boaz were worth 
more than all that it was either in his heart or in 
his power to do for her. 

And Naomi f aid, The man is near of kin unto us, 
one of our next kinfmen. The relation in which 
Boaz flood to Mahlon was probably one of the rea- 
fons that induced him to be fo kind to Ruth. God 
hath made of one blood all nations of men, and 
therefore we ought to look upon all human crea- 
tures as our brethren and niters, the children of the 
fame common progenitors, by the ordination of 
their common Creator. But thofe who are related 
to us by immediate parents, or by progenitors not 
far removed from us, have a fpecial claim to our 
kindnefs. " A brother is born for adverfity." 

Yet the poor ought not to make themfelves bur- 
denfome or troublefome to their profperous rela- 
tions. Naomi fought nothing from Boaz, and, till 
this time, does not feem to have expected new fa- 
vours from him. He had formerly been kind, and 
fhe did not wifh to tax his goodnefs by applications 
for new favours. God is never weary of confer- 
ring his blemngs. Thofe petitioners are moil wel- 
come to him that come moil frequently, and afk 
moil importunately. But the richeft of men may 
foon be impoverished, and the moil bountiful may 
foon be wearied, by giving. 

Paul thanked God in the behalf of the Philip- 
pian Chrifiians, that their care of him had flourim- 
ed afrefh. Naomi confiders it as a token for good, 
that the care of Boaz for her family was now again 
flourifhing and bringing forth fruit. With joy fhe 
informs Ruth, that the man whofe kindnefs fo deep- 



Ch. ii. 15, — 2 3.~\ OF RUTH. 117 

ly affected her, was a near relation. What might. 
they not expect from a near relation fo rich and fo 
kind ? What may we not expect from him who, 
being in the form of God, made himfelf oar near 
kinfman, that he might redeem us to God ? 

Ver. 21 And Ruth, the Moahitejs, /aid, He 

faid unto me alfo, Thou Jhalt keep f aft by my young 
men, until they have ended all my harvejl. 

Grateful fouls take pleafure in hearing and in 
fpeaking of their benefactors, and of the favours 
which have been done or promifed them. How 
conflantly ought we to remember, and how ready 
mould we be to fpeak of, the mercies of God ! He 
hath done great things for us, and giveth us every 
encouragement to hope that he will flill grant us all 
that is good for us. 

Ver. 22 — And Naomi faid unto Ruth, her 
daughter-in-law , It is good, my daughter, that thou 
go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in 
any other field, 

Naomi afked Ruth where (he had been, and de- 
fired particular information of the treatment me had 
met with, that me might give her fuch advice as 
might be ufeful for the direction of her future con- 
duct. Old perfons may be expected to have col- 
lected, by reflection and experience, more wifdom 
than the young, and mould be ready to communi- 
cate inftruction to thofe that need it. An oftentati- 
ous difplay of their acquirements, where it can be 
of no ufe, or where there is no difpofition to profit 
by them, would only expofe them to contempt. 
But they hide their talents in a napkin if they do 
not make thofe wifer by what they know, who are 

difpofed. 



118 THE HISTORY [Left. 8. 

difpofed to learn, and thofe efpecially whom divine 
Providence hath placed under their care. Young 
perfons, on their fide, mould be ever ready to liften 
to the inftru&ions of th# aged, and efpecially of 
aged parents, or relations that ftand in the place of 
parents. Ruth profited much by the inftructions 
and advices of Naomi ; and it was one of the great 
comforts of Naomi's declining years, that me could 
be ufeful to Ruth, by giving her the counfels of ex- 
perience. Let the young have their hands prepa- 
red for the fervice of the old, and the old may re- 
compenfe them abundantly by the words of their 
mouths. Happy would it have been for Rehchoam, 
and for all his people, had he known what refpect 
is due to the wife counfels of the aged. What 
numbers of young perfons take ram fteps in the 
journey of life, which cannot be retraced, becaufe 
they rather chufe to follow the impulfe of their 
own paflions, than to alk and follow the advices of 
thofe who brought them into the world. 

It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his 
maidens. Ruth had faid that Boaz invited her to 
keep fad by his young men. Naomi perhaps meant 
to infinuate in this advice, that, while ihe accepted 
the invitation, Ihe ought to confider the maidens as 
her bed companions. She was not bound to avoid 
all intercourfe with the young men. Boaz had ta- 
ken care that none of them mould behave rudely to 
her ; but her chofen companions were to be of her 
own fex. Ruth needed little admonition on this 
fubject. Boaz obferves, to her praife, that ihe 
had not followed young men, whether poor or 

rich. 

"It 



Ch. ii. 15,-23.] of RUTH. 119 

a It is good that thou go forth with his maidens," 
fince he invites thee to glean in his fields. Although 
Naomi would not be troublefome to her relations, 
nor folicit favours from them when neceffity did not 
compel her, me was not fo high-minded as to reje6l 
a favour that was offered. Poor perfons, who have 
feen better days, are fometimes too nice and fenvpu- 
lous in receiving obligations. It is good to be as 
independent in the world as our circumftances will 
allow ; but to be abfolutely independent is impoili- 
ble : and to have a fpirit above the acceptance of fa- 
vours, when our circumftances render the accep- 
tance of them needful, is a proud refiftance of our 
fpirits to that Providence which manages our con- 
cerns, and which manages them with wifdom and 
kindnefs when it lays our pride in the duft. 

That they meet thee not in any other field. If 
they had met Ruth in any other field, their matter 
might have been offended to find that his bounty 
w r as undervalued, or his fincerity diftrufted, or that 
his kinfwoman chofe rather to receive obligations 
from another than from himfelf. A generous man 
takes pleafure in being trulled. Nothing will more 
difpleafe him than want of confidence in his kind- 
nefs and profeffions. 

If we ought to exprefs our gratitude to earthly 
benefaclors, by (hewing a readinefs to be obliged to 
them, and a firm confidence in their favour, how 
readily ought we to accept of the precious gifts of 
God, and how ungrateful is it to a£t as if his gra- 
cious profeffions and promifes were unworthy of our 
truft ! Is not the faying, that 4 Chriit Jefus came 
into the world, a faithful faying, and worthy of all 

acceptation ?!* 



120 THE HISTORY [Left. S. 

acceptation?" Why then does any of us refufe, 
with thankfulnefs, to receive his unfpeakable gift ? 
Or why fhould we be found vainly fearching 
among ft creatures for what is to be found only in 
God ? 

Ver. 23 So fhe kept fafl hy the maidens of 

Boa% 9 to glean unto the end of barley harvefl and 
vf wheat harvef, and dwelt with her mother-in- 
law. 

Her mother-in-law's word was a law to her. 
According to her advice, fhe gleaned in the field of 
Boaz, and aflociated with his maidens. Obedience 
to parents, is obedience to Him who fays, " Ho- 
nour thy father and thy mother." We will, how- 
ever, foon have occafion to obferve, that there are 
limits to be fet to this obedience. God mutt in all 
things be obeyed. The commandments and coun- 
sels of parents are to be followed, as far as they do 
not interfere with the will of God. 

Ruth not only entered upon a courfe of ufeful, 
though humble induftry,but me perfifled in it. She 
did not weary of her mean occupation, but permitt- 
ed in gleaning till the end both of barley and of 
wheat harveli. Her relation to Boaz did not infpire 
her with vain conceits that fhe was entitled to great- 
er favour from him than a permiflion to glean after 
his reapers. Such afpiring thoughts would have 
greatly impaired, or deftroyed at once, her virtues, 
her reputation and her happinefs. She was well con- 
tent with her prefent low condition, and thankful 
for the fmall favours that were done her, and wait- 
ed patiently on that God, under the fhadow of 
whofe wings fhe came to truft ; and, in his own 

time 



Ch. ii. 15, — 23.] OF RUTH. 121 

time, he exalted her to polTefs the fields which ihe 
now gleaned* 

And dwelt with her mother- in* law. ^ Changes 
and war are againll me," faid Job. This language 
is not uncommon with thofe who have loft their 
neareft relations and moil beloved friends. But few 
have fo much reafon to fpeak this language as that 
patient fufferer. Changes in his condition robbed 
him of every comfort. Naomi was now deprived 
of her hufband and her two fons. Ruth was depri- 
ved of her hulband. But each of them had a kind 
and pleafant friend left in one another. Their reli- 
gious converfe, their kind attentions to one another's 
comfort, compenfated, in a great "meafure, the lofs 
of other friends. They w r ere not fo rich as they 
had once been ; but the goodnefs of Providence to 
them in their deftitute circumflances, would proba- 
bly give them more pleafure, than the rich tafte in 
their abundance. They loved one another, and 
dwelt together in peace and unity. And where 
virtuous love is found, pleafure is not abfent ; for 
u better is a dinner of green herbs, where love is, 
than a flailed ox and hatred therewith." 

Many are reduced to a more folitary condition 
than Naomi. Deprived of their beft friends, they 
have none eife to fupply their place, or none from 
whom they can derive much comfort. But let them 
not repine at the providence of God, whofe ways 
are always mercy and truth to them that love him. 
Although you mould be forfaken by father and 
mother, by wife and children, remember that there 
is a Friend who cannot be loit. Job's ehildrea 
L were 



122 THE HISTORY [Left. S. 

were all deftroyed. He had one near relation left, 
whofe behaviour gave him pain inftead of pleafure. 
But his fpirit was not crufhed by his afflictions ; for 
he knew that his Redeemer ftill lived. Seek fel- 
lowship with the Father, and with his Son, Jefus 
Chrift, and your joy fhaU be full. 1 John i, 3, 4» 
Johnxiv. 20, 21. 






LEG- 



Gh. iii. 1, — 9.J OF RUTH, 123 



LECTURE IX. 



RUTH, AT THE INSTIGATION OF NAOMI, LAYS HER- 
SELF DOWN AT THE FEET OF BOAZ, AND RE- 
QUESTS HIM TO CAST HIS SKIRT OVER HER. 

Chap. iii. l, — 9. 



. Ver. 1. — Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, /aid 
unto her, My daughter, Jhall I not feek reft for thee, 
that it may he well with thee ? 

IN aomi was happy to find Ruth fo well 
fatisfied with her mean condition, but earneftly de- 
fired to have her placed in more comfortable cir- 
cumilances. She was herielf an old woman, and 
wifhed not, at her departure from this world, to 
leave her daughter-in-law friendlefs. Her 'thoughts 
were often employed in confulting how me might 
bell promote and fecure the happinefs of fuch a be- 
loved friend. She had now, no doubt, given up all 

thought 



124 THE HISTORY [Le&. 9. 

thought of much earthly comfort to herfelf, except 
what (he found in the love of Ruth. But fhe was 
filll of foHcitude for her daughter-in-law, that flie 
might have no temptation to regret the facrifice 
which me had made to herfelf and to her religion, 
of the pleafures of her father's houfe. 

Shall I not feek reft for thee, my daughter I It is 
our common practice to infift upon the duties owing 
to us from our friends, and not to give ourfelves 
much trouble about what we ow T e to them. There 
are fome parents fo foolilh as to think that their 
children owe every thing to them, and that they 
owe nothing to their children. For this reafon, 
they tire full of complaints concerning their chil- 
drens undutiful behaviour, when, if their confciences 
or their reafon were awake, they might tell them 
that the fault was originally in themfelves. If they 
had been more attentive to the happinefs of their- 
children, their children, out of grateful affection, 
might probably have been difpofed to return the 
obligation. 

Shall 1 not feek reft for thee, that it may be well 
with thee / For this end, Naomi wifhed reil for her 
daughter-in-law, " that it might be well with her." 
When young perfons become widowers or widows, 
the relations of the deceafed hulband or wife often 
attend more to their interefl in the deceafed, than to 
the happinefs of the furvivor, although thofe who 
have left the world can receive no more benefit from 
them ; and the heft proof which they can then 
give of their affection to the friend whom they have 
loft, is to mew a proper attention to the happi- 
sefs and comfort of the perfons deareft to them 

whilft 



Ch- ill* 1, — Q.] OF RUTH. 125 

whilft they were upon the earth. Naomi doubtlefs 
thought, with as much regret as other mothers do, 
upon her beloved fon now in the grave ; but ilie 
did not think it would be any advantage to his foul, 
or to his memory, to keep his widow unmarried. 
Death diflolves the marriage relation ; and, at the 
refurreclion, there will be no reclaiming of huf- 
bands or^wives that were left in this world, Luke 
xx. 

Naomi had no thoughts of marriage for herfelf, 
becaufe fhe was too old to think of it, ch. ii. ; but 
fhe thinks of marriage for her daughter-in-law, who 
was not yet too old to have an hufband, and to en- 
tertain the hope of children. Thus Paul, who ad- 
vifes perfons in certain circumstances not to marry, 
or to renew that nuptial bond from which they are 
loofed, gives an oppofite advice to other virgins or 
widows. " The younger widows refufe," fays that 
apoille to Timothy. Admit them not to thofe of- 
fices or trufts which would render marriage incon- 
venient, or which would be a temptation to them to 
wax wanton in the unmarried ft ate, and then to en- 
ter into marriages with fuch perfons, or into mar- 
riages attended with fuch circumftances, as would 
bring guilt, and reproach, and danger upon them ; 
but *.* I will," adds he, " that the young women," 
or the younger widows, ci marry, bear children, 
guide the houfe, give none occafion to the adverfary 
to fpeak reproachfully." 

Naomi was not one of thofe old women who 
grudge to the younger thofe comforts and advan- 
tages which themfelves are too old to enjoy or to 
reliih. *' We are glad," fays Paul, " when we are 
L 3 weak 



3,26 THE HISTORY [Lect. ^. 

weak and ye are ftrong." Thus Naomi will be 
glad to fee her beloved daughter-in-law enjoying 
reft in the houfe of an hufband, although herfelf 
was conftrained by old age to live in perpetual foli- 
tude. Perhaps her daughter-in-law, when married, 
might find it convenient to have her mother-in law 
with her ; but if not, ftill Naomi wifhed her to be 
happily married. The comfort of her daughter- in- 
law was chiefly in view in the advice (he gave her. 
And whenever any perfon pretends to give an ad- 
vice to another, he mull lay afide all confiderations 
of himfelf, and have in his view nothing but the 
advantage of his neighbour ; or, if he wimes to 
ferve himfelf by his advice, let him fairly avow it, 
that he may preferve the confcioufnefs of integrity. 
We may very honeftly requeft a favour to ourfelves, 
but we muft not ileal it by falfe pretences of regard 
to the intereft of thofe from whom we defire it, 
when we have only our own in view. 

Parents, in particular, ought to have folely in 
view the happinefs of their children in thofe advices 
which they give them about entering into the mar- 
riage ftate. They ought to coniider the happinefs 
of their children as their own, and to chufe for fons 
and daughters-in-law, not thofe perfons who are 
moll agreeable to themfel^es, but fuch as, all things 
eonfidered, are moft likely to render their own chil- 
dren happy. It is vain to hope that we ihall 
able to force the inclinations of our children into 
fimilarity with our own. Gentle perfuafions an 
ferious advices may frequently be of good "ufe 
Compulfion belongs, not to a parent, but to a ty- 
rant. 

That 



be 
nd 



Ch. iii. 1, — 9.] OF RUTH. 127 

That it may be well with thee* An augmentation 
of happinefs is that which all men and women feek 
in entering into the ftate of marriage. And mar- 
riage, contracted with due deliberation, may be rea- 
fonably expected to yield fiich happinefs as earthly 
things can afford. " It is not good," faid God, 
" that the man mould be alone ; I will make him 
an help meet for him." It is to be remembered, 
however, that the woman made to be an help meet 
for him was made in his own image, as he was 
made in the image of God. Both men and women 
have loft their integrity, and therefore married per- 
fons may expect trouble in the ne(h. Thorns and 
briars have fprung up in all the relations and con- 
nections of life, as well as on the face of the ground. 
Yet the pleafure and advantages of marriage are 
likely to counterbalance, by many degrees, the for- 
rows that attend it, when the parties are equally 
yoked. If we are bleffed with partners renewed 
in knowledge and holinefs, after the image of our 
Creator, not only will our prefent comfort be great- 
ly promoted, but our eternal interefts likewife ; and 
we will have reafon to blefs God for the happy con- 
nection, not only during the few years that we may 
live together upon earth, but through endlefs ages. 
If wife perfons enter into this relation that it may 
be well with themfelves, they will confider that 
their partners entertained the fame views. We 
mufl be over-run with felnmnefs, and with a foolifh 
kind of felfilhnefs which difappoints its own views, 
if we hope to receive, without endeavouring to 
communicate happinefs. Even an Abigail could 
not make fuch. a churl as Nabal happy. But half 

her 



12S THE HISTORY [Led. 9. 

her fenfe and virtue might have made a man happy, 
whofe difpofitions were like her own. 

Shall I not feek reft for thee, that it may be well 
with thee ? It might ferve a good purpofe, if per- 
fons joined together in marriage would ferioufly con- 
fider thefe two things — whether their happinefs is 
increafed by their change of ftate — and whether the 
happinefs of their partners is increafed by it. If 
we are rather miferable than happy in this connec- 
tion, there muft be a great fault on one, and proba^ 
bly on both fides. Nor is it the lefs likely to be on 
our own fide, that we are difpofed to lay all the 
blame on the other. Moll perfons might find much 
happinefs in marriage, if they uniformly perfifted 
in endeavours to do the duty of the relation for their 
own part, whatever their companions in life do, and 
at the fame time endeavoured, to the utmofl of their 
power, to imprefs religious fentiments on the minds 
of their partners. Religion is the folid bails of 
morality in all its branches. u A woman that fear- 
eth the Lord, ihe mall be praifed," for her conjugal 
and other focial virtues, as well as for her piety. 

ViLR. 2, 3, 4.' — And now is not Boa% of our kin- 
dredy with whofe maidens thou ivajl ? behold, he 
winnoweth barley to-night in the threfhing floor. 
V/qfJj thy f elf therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy 
raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor ; 
hut make not thyfelf known unto the man, until he 
fkall have done eating and drinki?ig. And it fhall 
be, when he lieth down, that thou fhalt mark the 
place where he fhall lie, and thou fhalt go in, and un- 
cover his feet, and lay thee down ; and he will tell 
thee what thou fi alt do* 

Hitherto 



Ch. iii. 1, — 9.] OF RUTH. 12§ 

Hitherto we have found nothing in Naomi's con- 
duct that does not gain our approbation ; but im- 
perfection is the attendant of humanity in its pre- 
fent itate, and Naomi appears, in that part of her 
conduct which we now confider, to have erred. Her 
views were good, but the means fhe took to accom- 
plifh them were unwife. They were indeed fol- 
lowed with fuccefs ; but for the fuccefs we are to 
praife Boaz, or rather that gracious Providence 
which over- ruled ill- contrived means to accomplifh 
its own ends. God, in his mercy, often prevents 
thofe errors in our conduct to which the darknefs of 
our own minds would lead us, and often prevents 
thofe errors into which we fall from being attended 
with the pernicious conferences which would 
otherwife attend them. 

And now, is not Boa* of our kindred, with whofe 
maidens thou waft .* A kinfman amongft us is a 
perfon with whom we reckon ourfelves entitled to 
ufe fome freedom ; but, to underfland the words of 
Naomi, we mull remember that there were laws 
concerning kinfmen given to the Ifraelites, by which 
they were encouraged to expect relief from them in 
their diftrefs. The kinfman was to be a redeemer 
to thofe Ifraelites that were in bondage. Eftates 
fold by the poor, might be recovered by their inter- 
pofition, and children might be given to the dead 
by the marriage of his widow with his kinfman. 
Naomi knew the tender affection of Boaz for his 
kindred, his companion for their afflictions, his re- 
gard to the law of God. She believed that he 
needed only to be put in mind of the duties of a 
kinfman, to do every thing for Ruth that me could 

reasonably 



130 THE HISTORY [Led. 9. 

reasonably defire ; and we are here told how fhe 
proceeded in. this important bufinefs. 

Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threjh- 
ing floor. Barley muft be winnowed that it may be 
ufed j but will Boaz himfelf take part in fuch a 
mean employment ? What mould hinder Boaz from 
taking part in it ? He lived in the days of ancient 
fimplicity. Modern refinements and etiquette can- 
not give more plcafure to the fafhionable gentleman, 
than honeft induftry gave to this grandfon of a fa- 
mous prince of the children of Judah. We do not 
withhold our admiration from CamiHus, or Fabri- 
cius, or other famous confuls and dictators of the 
ancient Romans,, becaufe they held the plough with 
thofe hands which deftroyed the enemies of their 
country. 

Wajh thy f elf) therefore, and anoint thee, and put 
thy raiment upon thee. Anointing the head was 
cuftomary as well as warnings, amohgft perfons of 
ordinary condition in the land of Ifrael, where they 
were highly expedient on account of the heat of the 
climate, and where they are flill much pracli- 
fed. 

And put thy raiment upon thee. Naomi does not 
advife Ruth to procure new clothes for the occafion, 
which fhe might have perhaps been enabled to do 
by the profits of her labour. Her ' 6 adorning was 
not that of the putting on of apparel, but the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet fpirit." Yet it was pro- 
per, when fhe went to a feaft, that fhe mould put 
on the beft clothes in her poiTeffion. If decency of 
apparel is not a virtue, flovenlinefs is at leait an 
approach to vice. It is our duty to treat with be- 
coming 



Ch. iii. l, — 9.] of ruth. 131 

coming refpecl: our inferiors and equals, and ftill 
more our fuperiors, when they honour us with their 
kindnefs. 

And make not thyfelf known unto him until he 
Jhall have done with eating and drinking. And it 
Jhall be that thoujhalt mark the place where he Jhall 
lie ; and thou /halt go in, and uncover his feet \ and 
lay thee down. She was to difcover nothing of her 
intention to Boaz when lhe Went to the feaft, but 
rather to avoid any particular notice, that he might 
entertain no fufpicion of what was to follow. Con- 
cealment of intentions may be very proper, and 
very confident with uprightnefs, in fome cafes. But 
we mufl bev/are of doing any thing that will not 
bear the light, or unrig thofe arts of concealment in 
tranfa&ing lawful affairs that may be attended with 
bad effecls upon our character. It was perfectly 
confiftent with uprightnefs in Samuel to conceal his 
chief intention when he came to Bethlehem to anoint 
David, and in Solomon, when he commanded a 
fword to be brought, and his guards to flay the li- 
ving child about w r hich the two harlots contended. 
But it was not wife or fafe in Ruth to conceal her 
intentions from Boaz, when hie came to his feaft. 
Friendlinefs, and opennefs of dealing, is in general 
better policy than thofe arts of concealment which, 
if they are not evil in themfelves, are often bad in 
their confequences. 

Naomi feems to have confidered Boaz and Ruth 
as married perfons ; otherwife it is fcarcely concei- 
vable what end fhe could propofe in adviiing Ruth 
to mark where he lay, and place herfelf at his feet. 
She either did not know, or did not recoiled that 

there 



132 THE HISTORY [Led. 9. 

there was a kinfman nearer to them than Boaz, or 
knew that the nearer kinfman would not perform 
the kinfman's part to Mahlon. However good her 
intentions were, me greatly erred in attempting to 
form a connection between them in fecret. Mar- 
riage tranfactions ought to be openly publifhed to 
the world. There may be juft impediments to a 
marriage, which neither the parties nor their wit- 
neues know. Naomi might probably think that 
their anceftor Judah plainly coniidered Tamar as the 
wife of Shelah, before fhe was given to him. He 
would not have required her to be burnt, when he 
heard of her pregnancy, if he had not considered it 
as the fruit of adultery. V Boaz and Ruth flood 
in the fame relation as Shelah and Tamar, why 
might they not agree about living together, without 
any new ceremony ? or, if any thing more was ne- 
ceiTary to fye done, Boaz would take the care of it 
upon himfelf, after this plain indication of Ruth's 
wiilingnefs to become his wife. Such were proba- 
bly the thoughts of this good woman, for many 
even of u the thoughts of the wife are vain." 

Whatever apologies may be made for Naomi or 
Ruth, none can with any appearance of reafon be 
made for clandeftine marriages amongft ourf elves. 
If even the wife and pious Naomi acted fo unwari- 
ly, when the laws and cufloms of the country feem- 
ed to favour her plan, what can be faid for thofe 
who wilfully violate a plain law of their country, 
inftituted for the prevention of the moll abominable 
crimes ? What adulteries or inceftuous conjunctions 
would be the natural confequence of the abolition 
of the laws requiring publicity in marriage tranf- 

actions 



Ch. ill. 1,-9.] OF RUTH. 133 

aaions. The tranfgrefiion of laws abfolutely ner- 
cefTary for the prevention of any vice, is an attempt 
to remove the barriers by which it has been re- 
trained. Important circumftances necelTary to be 
known and attended to, appear to have been over- 
looked by Naomi, when ike gave directions to Ruth 
about her marriage. If Boaz, and ether friends, 
had been duly informed of her views, they would 
have fecured Ruth agamft that danger of difgrace, 
or of fome thing worfe, which was evidently incur- 
red, though God, in his mercy, prevented the mif- 
chief. 

Ver. 5 And /he /aid unto her, All that thou 

Jayejl unto me I will do. / 

Ruth, we may fuppofe, felt fome repugnance at 
the thought of lying down at the feet of Boaz ; but 
flie believed her mother-in-law to be a wifer wo- 
man than herfelf, and better acquainted with the 
laws and cufloms of Ifrael. She therefore promiled 
to comply exactly with her advice. We are plea- 
. fed with her humility, -her deference, and her obe- 
dience to her mother-in-law ; and yet it is to be 
wimed that (he had confulted her own judgment mote 
than me did. The holy writers often advife chil- 
dren to obey their parents, but their obedience tnuft 
be 4< in the Lord."- Faults that lean to virtue's fide 
are full faults. As none ought to call that unclean 
which God hath fanctified, nothing can fan&ify 
what is contrary to the revealed will of God. 

The blame however, if we muft blame Ruth, was 
not fo much her own as Naomi's. Let all parents, 
and all whofe office it is to command or to advife, 
be careful to furnifh themfelves with clear views of 
M fm 



134 THE HISTORY [Left. 9. 

fm and duty, that they may not caufe thofe who 
pay, and mould pay, a great deference to their judg- 
ment, to err out of the way of underiianding. One 
great end of the writing of the book of Proverbs 
was, that we might be furniflied with ftores of wif- 
dom, enabling us to give found counfel to our neigh- 
bours* " A man of understanding mall attain unto 
wife counfels," Prov. i. 9. 

Ver. 6 And foe went down unto the floor* 

and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade 
her* 

There are fome who fay, and do not. There are 
fome who will not fay, and yet will do what they 
are commanded by their parents. Ruth both fays 
and does what her mother-in-law advifed her to do. 
Both in word and deed we ought to teilify our re- 
verence for parents, and for all that po fiefs a juft 
title to our obedience. Exceptions molt be made, 
becaufe none but God can claim an unlimited right 
xo our fubmiffion. Ruth might err by excefs of 
complaifance to her mother-in-law ; but the errors 
of young perfons are commonly of an oppofite 
kind. 

Ver. 7. — And when Boa's had eaten and drunk s 
and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at tht 
end of the heap of corn ; and fhe came foftly, and 
-uncovered his feet, and laid her down. 

** Go thy war, eat thy bread with cheerfulnefs, 
am! drink thy wine with a merry heart, when Goc 
acceptetli thy works,'' and giveth thee fpeeial teiti- 
monies of his goodnefs. " Every creature of God 
is good, and nothing to be refufed, being fanctified 
hy the word of God and prayer.''* Although wine, 

as 



Ch.iii. 1, — 9.] of ruth. 135 

as it is ufed by the fons of riot, ** is a mocker, and 
ftroag drink is raging," jet it is a good creature of 
God, given to cheer the heart of man. Chrift 
himfelf turned water into wine for the entertain- 
ment of a company met together at a marriage- 
feaft. 

Boaz did not think it below his dignity to eat and 
drink with his fervants, nor did he think it incon- 
fiftent with the laws of fobriety to take a moderate 
fhare of that pleafant liquor which u cheereth the 
heart of God and man." He would obferve God's 
iV.tnfulneis, as well as goodnefs, in the provifion of 
his table, when he enjoyed the ble fling of his fa- 
ther judah, to whom it was promifed, that " his 
teeth ilioukl be white with milk, and his eyes red 
with wine." 

Think net that Boaz had gone beyond the bounds 
of moderation, when his heart was cheerful through, 
wine. He had drunk away no part of his under- 
standing, as you will fee by his behaviour. Drunk - 
ennefs is the introduction to other fenfual impurities, 
when the devil can find means to prefent a fuitable 
temptation. " Thine eyes," fays Solomon to the 
drunkard, " mail behold it range women, and thine 
heart {hall utter perverfe things." But when 
Boaz found that there was a woman lying at his 
feet, he was amamed, and on his guard againft eve- 
ry appearance of evil. 

" He went to lie down at the end of the heap" of 
wheat, in his clothes. This was another inftance of 
the fimplicity of manners in his age. Why mould 
we wonder that people of ancient times had man- 
ners different from ours ? There is no law of reafon 



130 THE HISTORY [Left. O. 

or religion that binds the men of other nations to 
adopt the Britifh laws. There was as little reafon 
why the ancients mould obferve thofe modes of con- 
duct which are thought proper to be obferved in 
our days. 

" She rofe foftly, and uncovered his feet, and lay 
down;" Neither of them were undreffed. Yet we 
-can by no means juflify Naomi or Ruth. We 
ought to u abllain from all appearance of evil," and 
to a make ftraight paths for oar feet, that that which 
is lame may not be turned out of the way." No 
woman can plead Ruth's example as an excufe for 
iimiiar conduct, not only becaufe no bad examples, 
even of good men or women, are to be imitated, 
but becaufe the circumltances of thofe who might 
plead fuch example, cannot be the fame, unlefs the 
Jewifh laws, concerning the marriage of the near 
kinfman, were to be refiored to their force. 

Ver. 8, 9 And it came to pafs at midnight, 

that the man was afraid, and turned hit? f elf ; and 
behold a woman lay at his feet. And he f did, Who 
art thou? andfhe anfwered, I am Ruth thine hand* 
maid ; fpread therefore thy fiirt over thine hand- 
maid, for thou art a near kinfman, 

Boaz was ftartled when he awaked out of fleep, 
and felt one lying at his feet. He was amazed when 
he carl his eyes on the perfon who had ufed the 
freedom, and faw that it was a woman. Had he 
intoxicated himfelf at the feaft, when his heart was 
merry with wine, he would now have been expofed 
to one of the moft dangerous fnares of the devil. 
But he was in full poffeffion of his reafon. What 
was ftill better, his virtue or his grace was awake 

fct* 



Ch. iii. J,— -9.] OF RUTH. 1'3'T 

Co preferve him from the power of temptation. By 
the grace of God he kept himfelf, and the wicked 
one troubled him not. 

Who art thou § he faid. He could perceive by 
the little light he had, that it was a woman that lay 
at his feet ; but what woman it was he could not 
difcern, and it was natural to fuppofe that it muft 
have been one of the foolifh women, who came 
with no good intentions to place herfeif fo nearhim.- 
We muft have no fellowflrip with the unfruitful 
works of darknefs, but rather reprove thofe who 
evidently fin, and call thofe to account whofe con- 
duel is fufpicious, when they will expofe themfelves 
to our cenfure. 

/ am Ruth thine handmaid. Spread thy Jkirt 
therefore over thine handmaid. Ruth does not now 
hefitate to make herfeif known to Boaz. She tells 
him who fhe was, and folicits him to fpread his 
Ikirt over her, and thus to acknowledge himfelf her 
humand. A woman may, in fome extraordinary 
cafes fuppofeable amongit ourfelves, folicit or de- 
mand marriage from a man, without violating- the 
laws of delicacy or referve which nature or cuttom 
enjoins. But the law of Mofes allowed a woman 
to requefi marriage from the brother of her huf- 
band who died without children, and to put him to 
open ihame if he refufed to comply. Boaz was not 
a brother-german of Mahlon ; but either the law, 
if appears, was in this age underftood to compre- 
hend the neareft relations, when brothers by fathers 
or mothers were wanting, or a cuftom, founded on 
the fpirit of the lay/, was introduced to extend its 



M 3 Women, 



138 THE HISTORY [Left. 9. 

Women, in ordinary cafes, would greatly err and 
expofe themfelves to fharae, were they to fliew an 
eager defire of marriage ; but they may likewife 
err by affecled refufals of an hufband, or by obfti- 
nately continuing in the fingle ftate when they ought 
to marry. " I will," fays an apoftle, " that the 
younger widows marry." He does not will them 
all to marry. There are circumftances in which 
they who marry not, do better than thofe who mar- 
ry ; but there are others in which they would ex- 
pofe themfelves to needlefs temptations, or to ufe- 
lefs vexations, by continuing fingle. In this, as in 
every important Hep of life, let men and women at- 
tend to the directions of the word of God, and ac- 
knowledge him by prayer, and he will direct their 
fleps in the way of peace and holinefs. 

'f Spread thy Mrt over me, for thou art my near 
kinfman." The near relation of Boaz to Ruth by 
Mahlon, was her encouragement to feek and to hope 
that me mould be covered with his fkirt. May we 
not much more take encouragement from the near 
relation of our bleifed Lord, to hope that he will 
not difdain to receive us into a marriage-relation ? 
Why did he take part of our fiem and blood ? Was 
it not that he might betroth us to himfelf ? In his 
grace and pity he u was in all things made like unto 
us, that he might be a merciful and faithful high 
prieft, to make reconciliation for the fins of the 
people." He is the great pattern of conjugal love, 
for he gave himfelf for his deftined fpoufe, " that he 
might fan&ify and cleanfe her by the warning of 
water through the word, and might prefent her to 
himfelf a glorious church, not having fpot or wrin- 
kle^ 



Ch. ill. 1, — 9.] OF RUTH. 13^ 

kle, or any fuch thing." Why doth he fend forth 
his fervants, the miniflers of the gofpel, to declare 
his name to us ? Is it not that they may " efpoufe 
fouls to one hufband, and prefent them as chafte 
virgins unto Chrift ?" 






LEG. 



146 THE HISTORY [Left. 10. 



LECTURE X. 



BOAZ PROMISES TO RUTH TO MARRY HER, IF HER 
HUSBAND'S NEAREST KINSMAN DID NOT INSIST 
UPON HIS PRIOR RIGHT. HE DISMISSES HER WITH 
A PRESENT TO HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, WHO EX- 
PRESSES GREAT SATISFACTION WITH HER KIND- 
RECEPTION BY BOAZ. 

Chap. iii. 10,— 18. 



Ver. 10 And he /aid, Bleffed he thou of the 

Eord, my daughter; for thou haft Jhewed more 
kindnefs in the latter end than at the beginning, inas- 
much as thou follow edji not young men, whether poor 
or rich. 

Ivuth, no doubt, felt much anxiety in 
her mind, when me thought of the reception with 
which fhe might meet from Boaz, as the whole 
colour of her future life depended upon it j but 

his 



Gh. lit 10, — 18.] OF RUTH. 141 

his former kindnefs gave her hope, and (he was not 
difappointed. 

Some men meeting with fuch an application from 
a young woman, would have taken advantage of 
her imprudence to draw her into the fnares of the 
devil. Others would have treated her with afperi* 
ty, as a preiuming wench divefted of the modefty 
belonging to her fex. Boaz knew Ruth and Nao- 
mi too well to entertain any injurious fufpicion con- 
cerning Ruth's prefent conduct. He faw that lhe 
was acting according to Naomi's direction, and that 
their views were pure, whatever might be thought 
of the manner in which they endeavoured to accom- 
plish them. Actions are often to be eftimated from 
the character of the actor. Virtuous women may 
be found in fit nations that might juilly expofe them 
to fufpicion, if their former behaviour did not give 
them a juft title to have that conduct afcribed to 
miflake, or to fome unknown caufe, which at firft 
view appeared almoft inexcufable. 

Bleffed be thou of the Lord, for thou hafi Jhewed 
more kindnefs in the latter end than at the beginning 
to thy hufband's family. She had no doubt made 
an excellent wife to Mahlon. Since his death, lhe 
had fulfilled all the offices of an affectionate daugh- 
ter to Naomi. Her defire of becoming the wife of 
Mahlon's near kinfman, was confidered by Boaz as 
an inilance of her kindnefs to the deceafed, that de- 
ferved ftill greater praife. Boaz was an old man. 
A young woman of Ruth's beauty and character 
might have expected an hufband amongft the young 
men of the country, better fuited to her tafte, and 
more likely to make her happy through life, if her 

happinefs 



!42 THE HISTORY [Led. 10. 

happinefs had not confided to a great degree in fhew- 
ing refpect to the memory of the dead, and to the 
comfort of her livino- friends. 

o 

" Thou haft not followed young men, whether 
poor or rich." Some might have fuppofed, that a 
mean and covetous fpirit had induced Ruth to feek 
an alliance with Boaz, rather than with a man 
near her own age. Eat nothing could have heen 
more unjuft, than to entertain fuch an opinion of st 
woman cf approved virtue. None but a woman 
fit to be a pioilitute for hire, would marry a man 
for his riches, when ihe would have preferred ano- 
ther man to him if he had not been poor. Ruth's 
contentment with her low condition, her conjugal af- 
fection to Mahlon, iHll apparent in her filial beha- 
viour to his mother, her modeiiy, her piety, were 
proofs that me could not act upon motives fo un- 
worthy to come into the mind of an Ifraelitefs. An 
Ifraelitefs (lie may with propriety be called. She 
was fo by choice if not by birth, and from a pious 
regard to the God and to the people of Ifrael, fke 
preferred widowhood, or the meaner! connections in 
the Holy Land, to any profpects me could form 
amongft her friends in Moab. 1 

God hath made of one blood all nations of men, 
to bind them in the connections of a common bro- 
therhood. And he hath parcelled out men into 
particular kindreds and families, to bind them iliil 
clofer in friendfliip with thofe to whom they may 
communicate, or from whom they may receive the 
kindneffes due from men to their own Hem. Boaz, 
entertaining a warm regard to his own kindred, 
fought himfelf indebted to Ruth for that affection- 
ate. 



-18.} OF RUTH. 143 

ate regard which Hie had (hewed to his friends. He 
gave her due praife fur her behaviour, and promifed 
that he would take care of her interefts. 

Ver. 11 And now, my daughter, fear not, I 

will do to thee all that thou requirejl ; for all the 
city of my people doth know that thou art a virtu- 
ous woman. 

Blefiings of the tongue are cheap, and very rea- 
dily given by fome who have nothing elfe to give. 
Boaz, prays that the Lord might blefs Ruth, and at 
the fame time undertakes to do what (he required, 
if he found it confident with the rights of a dill 
nearer kinfman. 

He calls her his daughter, and jet is very ready- 
to take her for a wife. Equality of age is very de- 
finable in the marriage relation, but not indifpenfa-. 
ble. If a young woman find that ike cannot love 
an old man, fhe cannot, without finning, and with- 
out expoiing herfelf to great temptations for the 
time to come, enter into that relation, the duties of 
which cannot be rightly performed without that 
conjugal affection which ought to be maintained be- 
tween thofe who are a no more twain, but one flefh." 
Nor can parent-, without unnatural cruelty, urge 
their daughters, to roarry men, to whom they cannot 
cheerfully promife that love and reverence Vvhich 
are indifpenfably requiiite in Chrillian wives. But 
Ruth found no difficulty in the matter. She enter- 
tained a cordial love to Boaz as a good man, as the 
heft friend of her family, and her own friend. Boaz 
neither thought, nor had any reafon to think, that 
ihe wifhed from any improper motives to become 

his 






144 THE HISTORY [Led. 10. 

his wife, for fhe was well known to be a virtuous 
woman. 

If fhe had not been a virtuous woman, Boaz 
would not have thought of making her his wife. 
Neither beauty, were it equal to that of our firft 
mother in her firft eftate, nor wit, nor any qualifica- 
tion, however brilliant, or however engaging, can 
fupply the place of virtue. Without virtue, the 
moll attractive qualities are very likely to become 
incentives and temptations to vice, Prov. xxxi. 30. 

All the city of my people doth know that thou art 
a virtuous vjoman. This was a great recommenda- 
tion of Ruth to Boaz, that her virtue was well 
known and acknowledged by all his fellow- citizens. 
All young women ought not only to behave well, 
but to keep at a diftance from every thing that may 
render their character doubtful. What wife man 
will ever pay his addreffes to a woman, however 
virtuous, unlefs lhe entertain a due regard to her 
own character ? It cannot even be faid that a wo- 
man is unexceptionable in virtue, when fhe is not 
duly careful of the appearance, as well as of the 
reality of virtuous conduct. Whatfoever things 
are lovely, and of good report, mult be thought 
upon and pra&ifed by Chrifbians of both fexes. 
Female delicacy requires particular attention to this 
rule of conduct from the weaker fex. 

Although Boaz was charmed with the behaviour, 
and pleafed with the character of Ruth, yet he 
would take no unfair methods to obtain her for 
himfelf. " A virtuous woman "is a crown to her 
hufband»" But an honeft man will not ufe unjufli- 

fiable 



Ch. iii. 10,-18.] OF RUTH. 145 

fiable methods to obtain the beft crown which this 
earth can afford. 

Ver. 12, 13. — And now, it is true that I am thy 
near kin/man, howbeit there is a kin/man nearer than 
i". Tarry this night, and it Jhall he in the morning, 
that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinf- 
man, well, let him do the kin/man's part ; but if he 
will not do the part of a kinfman to thee, then will 
I do the part of a kinfman to thee, as the Lord li- 
•veth. Lie down until the morning. 

When Alexander the Great took Tyre, he was 
informed of a young prince who had obtained a 
high character for virtue, and offered him the crown. 
The young prince refufed it, becaufe he had an el- 
der brother, who had a better title than himfelf to 
the royal dignity, for they were of the ancient blood 
of the Tyrian kings. Boaz deferves no lefs praife 
than this Tyrian prince. Such a wife as Ruth 
would have been preferred by Boaz to a royal dia- 
dem ; yet he would not take her to himfelf to wife 
whilft there lived-another man who had a prefera- 
ble claim to her, if he was willing to make ufe of 
his right. We ought to " look every man not on 
his own things only, but every man alfo on the 
things of others.'* 

And now, it is true that I am thy near kinfman* 
Purfe-proud men are afhamed of their poor relations, 
but Boaz takes pleafure in being accounted the near 
kinfman of fuch a virtuous woman as Ruth. If we 
are afhamed of virtuous and godly friends becaufe 
they are poor, we would have been aihamed to ac- 
knowledge Jefus as a friend when he lived in pover- 
ty upon earth. 

N Howbeit 



146 THE HISTORY [Led. 10. 

Howheit there is a kin/man nearer than I. There 
are different degrees of relation, all of which have 
their refpe&ive duties and their refpe&ive rights be- 
longing to them. We fin either by neglecting any 
of the duties of thefe relations, or by arrogating 
the rights peculiar to nearer relations. A brother 
or an uncle are near relations ; but neither of them 
can claim the authority of a father, except in ex- 
traordinary cafes, when particular circumftances 
have devolved the authority of a parent upon them. 
Uoaz would do every thing to ferve Ruth that be- 
came her neareft relation, but one ; and this one 
thing he declined, becaufe he had no right to do it. 
He would not intrude into the rights of another 
man, till they were voluntarily furrendered. As 
every man ought to abide in his own calling, fo we 
all ought to keep our own places in fociety. Much 
of the unhappinefs, and many of the fins of focial 
life, originate in that afTuming and meddling difpo- 
fition, which renders fome people a peft to their 
neighbours, and flill more to themfelves. 

" Tarry this night, and thou fhalt know whether 
thy neareft kinfman chufes to (Jo the part of a kinf- 
man to thee." Although we mult not be bufy- bo- 
dies, yet we a£ a kind part to our friends when we 
take an intereft in their affairs, and, at their defire, 
underflood or exprefied, tranfacV fuch of thern as 
they cannot fo well tranfaft for themfelves. Ruth 
might have gone to her neareft kinfman, and requi- 
red him either to marry her or renounce his right ; 
but Boaz faves her the trouble, and we may fay of 
him as he faid of Ruth, that his kindnefs in the 
end was greater than at the beginning. It was a 

great 



Ch. 111. 10, — 18.] OF RUTH. 147 

♦ 

great pleafure to him to caufe " the widow's heart 
to fing for joy." 

" Tarry this night, and I will tranfacl the bufinefs 
in the m-orning. ,, Boaz w T duld do with his might 
what his hand found to do. He would not caufe 
Ruth to wait in fufpenfe a {ingle hour beyond what 
w r as neceflary for bringing the mof 1 : important bufi- 
nefs of her life to a concluuon. One of the En- 
glifh kings was called Ethelred the Unready, be- 
caufe he w T as always too late with his preparations 
to oppofe the enemies of his country. O that men 
could know and attend to their duties in the proper 
feafon ! Then would they be like trees planted by 
the .rivers of water, whofe leaf fadeth not, and 
whofe fruit does not fail. Chrift hath redeemed us 
from all iniquity, that we might be ever ready for 
every good work, 

" If he will perform the part of a kinfman, well, 
(or, it is good), let him perform the part of a kinf- 
man." But if he perform the part of a kinfman r 
Boaz mud give up all thoughts of marrying the 
woman who flood fo high, in his eftimation, and in 
the opinion of all his fellow- citizens. True ; but 
if he is difappointed of a virtuous wife, he keeps a 
good confcience. A good wife is a good thing, but 
a good confcience is better. If you could obtain 
the befl wife in the world by injuftice, you make a 
very fooliih bargain. 

" We are glad," fays Paul to the Corinthians, 
tt when we are weak, and ye are flrong." If Boar 
muft fee Ruth the wife of another man, he will re- 
joice in his happinefs, and in the happinefs which 
he hoped Ruth would enjoy in his houfe. We mould 

learn. 



148 THE HISTORY [Le&. 10. 

learn to rejoice with them that rejoice, when we 
have reafon on our own account to mourn. 

" But if he will not perform the part of a kinf- 
man, I will perform the part of a kinfman unto 
thee." You fee he does not think the worfe of 
Ruth for lying down at his feet. He was governed 
by that charity which thinketh no evil. 

As the Lord liveth. Oaths are not to be fworn 
.on trifling occafions. Boaz accounted the prefent an 
occafion of fufficient importance to juftify his taking 
the name of God into his mouth. His word might 
very well have been believed without an oath ; but 
he wifhed to give full fatisfaclion to Ruth about his- 
iatentions, that her mind might be fet perfectly at 
eafe, and that fhe might patiently wait the event 
without putting herfelf to any farther trouble. 

It is a fign of a profane fpirit not to fear an oath. 
It is vain, fcrupuloufly to be afraid of an oath when 
we are called to fwear. 

Lie down until the morning. Boaz probably wifh- 
ed that fhe had not come to lay herfelf down ; but 
iince fhe was laid at his feet, he did not think it 
fafe for her to leave him till the morning. He did 
not wifh her to expofe herfelf to the fears and pe- 
rils of the night, nor did he think it prudent either 
to go with her, or to fend one of his fervants to at- 
tend her, in the darknefs of the night, to her mo- 
ther's houfe. In confidering what is fit to be done 
in particular bufineues, it is often neceflary to at- 
tend to exifting circumftances. Certain fituations 
and circumftances may render it neceflary and wife 
to do thofe things which, in different fituations, it 
would be very unwife to do ; as you fee in Paul's 

directions 



Ch. iii. 10, — 18.] OF eu.TH. 14# 

directions about thofe points, concerning which the 
Corinthian believers confulted him by letter, 1 Cor, 
vii. 10. 

Ver. 14 And foe lay at his feet until 'he morn* 

ing ; and Jhe rofe up before one could know another* 
Andhe faid,Let it not be known that a woman came 
into the floor. 

Let us endeavour to do nothing that will not bear 
the light. But if we have done any thing that 
may expofe us to Unjuft fufpicions if it were known, 
it is not inconfiftent with integrity to conceal it, pro- 
vided it can be done without falfehood or diflimula- 
tion. Although Boaz was fully perfuaded that 
Ruth came with no evil intention to the floor, and 
was confcious*that their mutual converfe was inno- 
cent, he did not know what ill-natured confli nations 
might be put upon the conduct of either of them- 
by fome of their neighbours. " All men have not 
faith," fays Paul ; and we know too well that all 
men have not charity. 

It is necefTary for us at all times to cut ofF occa- 
fions from thofe who would fpeak reproachfully.^ 
It was necefTary efpecially that a ilranger and pro- 
felyte mould be careful of her character, and above 
all, a Ilranger whom a refpe&able citizen might 
claim for a wife. If matters had been fo conduct- 
ed, that Ruth's behaviour had excited fufpicions 
againft her, how could Boaz have pro pofed a mar- 
riage with Jier to her neareil kinfman ? It might 
have been fuppofed, that he only wlihed for a refu- 
fal, that he might take her to himfelf. But, highly 
as he efteemed Ruth r he would take no Heps to ob- 
N 3 ' xaia- 



15® THE HISTORY [Led. 1$, 

tain her, on which he could not refiecT: with plea- 
fure. 

Ver. 15. — Alfo he /aid, Bring the veil that thou 
haft upon thee, and hold it. And, when Jhe held it, 
he meafured Jix meafures of barley, and laid it on 
her ; and Jhe went into the city. 

This, fome may fay, was a ftrange prefent. Who 
ever laid a load of barley upon the moulders of a 
young woman whom he wifhed to marry, as a proof 
of his affection ? Might he not have given her rings, 
or nofe^ jewels, or fome Babylonifh garment, rather 
than a load of grain fit to be laid on the moulders 
of a beggar ? 

It maybe anfwered, that Boa-z could better judge 
than we, what prefents were fit to be made to Ruth. 
Such queftions will be aiked by thofe only, whofe 
acquaintance reaches not beyond the manners of 
their own time, or of their own people. If you 
have- read the moll ancient of uninfpired books, you 
will find that it was not, in the days of old, account- 
ed in confident with the dignity of heroes and kings 
to kill and roaft their own meat. If you read the 
accounts of recent travellers to the Eaft, you will 
find that great men think they pay a compliment to 
Grangers of diftinclion, by fending them prefents of 
provifions, even of the kind that is mofl common 
and cheap. 

Lovers amongft us, it is true, do not give pre- 
fents of barley to their mi (Irene s ; yet barley is 
more precious than any of the trinkets which the 
euiloms of modern times have introduced, as pro- 
per teftimonies of regard to the objects of love 
When our Lord fed a multitude with barley loaves, 

he 



Ch. iii. 10,-18.] OF RUTH. 

he multiplied them, but he did not change t- 
into loaves of fine wheat. Ruth, and her motht, 
Naomi, had learned by poverty to let a value upon 
thofe kinds of grain, which fulnefs of bread, and 
abundance of idlenefs, difpofe too many to defpife. 
Thofe who mull live on barley bread are monfters 
of ingratitude, if they receive not their portion of 
the good things of this world with thankfulnefs to 
the Author and Preferver of their being. The apo* 
file Paul was often not fo well fupplied with food 
as the pooreft of our, cottagers, and yet his heart 
was warm with gratitude to Him who gives us all 
things richly to enjoy. 1 Tim. vi. 18. 

He laid it on her, andjhe went into the city. She 
received the barley in her veil, and carried it to the 
houfe of her mother-in-law. She difdained not the 
prefent. She did not think herfelf too fine a lady 
to carry it, although fhe hoped foon to^be the wife 
of u a mighty man of wealth." God had given 
her health and vigour, and ihe was not alhamed to 
ufe her ftrength in thofe ufeful employments, which 
may perhaps appear too mean to fome of the lowefl 
clafs of fociety amongil us. It is faid of a certain 
Spanifli king, that one of his attendants, feeing him 
one day employed in a piece of mechanical work, 
took the liberty of obferving, that fuch employ- 
ments were fitter for a carpenter's apprentice, than 
a king. " Nature," replied the monarch, u has 
given hands to kings as well as to other men, and I 
know no law that mould hinder me from ufing 
them." 

Ver. 16. — And when Jhe came to her mother-in» 

law 9 



\ 



THE HISTORY [Left. 10, 

Jhe /aid, Who art thou, my daughter? And 
4je told her all that the man had done to her, 

Naomi doubtlefs waited with impatience the time 
when Ruth might be expected to return, but was 
furprifed to fee her come at a time fhe was not ex- 
pecting her, when the light began to appear in the 
heavens. The prefent too, which Ruth carried, in- 
creafed her wonder, which {lie exprefled in thefe 
words, Who art thou, my daughter ? We fome times' 
ufe a like expreffion, Is this you ? when a Mend 
pays us an unexpected vifit. 

And Jhe told her all that the man had done to her, 
Ruth ufed to hide nothing that was interesting to 
herfelf from her affectionate mother-in-law ; and 
was no doubt happy to inform her of any thing 
that would give her fatisfadtion. 

Let no young woman deal in fecrecy and conceal- 
ment. JBeware of doing any thing that you would 
not wifh your affectionate mother to know ; and, if 
you have done any thing unfit to be known, make 
not falfehood your refuge. Ruth had no reafon to 
be afraid of telling her mother-in-law what paned 
between herfelf and Boaz.. " He who doth truth, 
cometh to the light, for he is not afraid to have his 
works made manifeit." 

Ver. 17. — And Jhe faid, Thefe Jix meafures of 
barley gave he me ; for he Jaid to me, Go not empty 
unto thy mother-in-law. 

Ruth could not conceal the bounty of Boaz, for 
her heart overflowed, with gratitude ; and me men- 
tions it to Naomi in language that would highly 
gratify the good old woman. Although Naomi 
had Ruth's happinefs only in view, as her own con- 
nection 



Ch. ill. 10 9 — IS.] OF RUTH. 153 

neclion with the world was nearly at an .end, yet fhe 
muft have been pleafed with the attentions paid to 
her by her friends. You cannot reftore youthful vi- 
gour to your aged friends. You cannot give them 
a reliih for youthful enjoyments. Yet you may 
confole them by thofe kind attentions to which they 
are well entitled from thofe young friends whom 
they love. 

Ver. 18.— -Then /aid Jhe, Sit JIM, my daughter, 
until thou know how the matter will fall^ for the 
man will not be in rejl, until he have Jinijhed the 
thing this day, 

" There is a time to fpeak, and a time to. be 
nlent ;" a time to aft, and a time to fit ftilh Ruth 
had now done all that her mother thought neceBary. 
She may now fit ftill, for her affairs are in the hand 
of one who will take care to manage them in the 
molt expeditious manner, and to bring them to a 
happy conclufion. 

Some cannot be perfuaded to aft when activity is. 
neceuary ; others cannot be induced to fit ftill when 
they have done all- that is lit to be done. Their 
anxiety keeps them in a conftant buftle. They 
neither can be at reft, nor fuffer others around them 
to reft. It is vain for men to rife up early, and ik 
up late, to eat the bread of forrow, and to refufe to 
their minds and bodies their neceuary repofe. Let 
us not neglecl our duty about our fecular as well as 
our fpiritual interefts. Slothfulnefs is reprobated 
both by reafon and religion ; but let us ftill remem- 
ber our Lord's gracious injunction, " Take no 
thought," or rather, Take no anxious thought, "for 
the morrow," We ought never to fay to pur fouls, 

"Taker 



,154 THE HISTORY [Led. 10. 

4 * Take your reft, eat, drink, and be merry ;" but 
we have too often reafon to fay, " Why art thou 
difquieted within me ? Hope thou in God." 

Sitjlill until thou know how the matter will falL 
Ruth might well be fuppofed to entertain uneafy 
thoughts about a buiinefs that was to determine the 
fortune of her future days. She did not know whe- 
ther ihe was to be the wife of Boaz, or of her nearer 
kinfman. But what could me do by the indulgence 
of diiquieting thoughts ? She could not alter the 
laws or cuftoms of the country. She could not do 
any thing more than (he had already done, to pro- 
cure for herfelf that alliance which fhe defired. 
What could fhe now do better than to fit Hill, re- 
igning herfelf to the providence of God. Things 
that will happen, cannot be prevented by our ut- 
moft folicitude. Things not appointed will never 
take place, if all the care, and all the toil of men 
and angels were jointly employed to bring them 
about. For ** who is he that faith, and it cometh 
to pafs, when the Lord commandeth it not : Out of 
the mouth of the Molt High proceedeth not evil 
and good?" 

For the man will not he in rejl, until he have Jin'vfh* 
ed the thing tfcis day. Naomi knew Boaz to be a 
man of wifdom and activity, a generous and honeft 
man, who would not reft till he had accomplished 
the bufinefs in hand. Ruth, having fuch a friend 
to tranfact her bufinefs, had no occafion to give her- 
felf any more trouble. A faithful friend is the moft 
precious bleffing which this world can afford. u He 
that fendeth a meflage by the hand of a fool, cutteth 
q£ the feet, and drinketh damage \ but as a cloud 

of 



Ch. iii. 10,— 18 .] OF ruth. 155 

of dew in the heat of harveft, fo is a faithful mef- 
fenger to them that fend him, for he refreiheth the 
foul of his employers," 

Do you profefs to be a friend ? Shew yourfelf 
friendly in your conduct. Be not backward, to en- 
gage in the concerns of your friend, when you are 
qualified to manage them to better advantage than 
he can do, or to give him friendly affiltance to ma- 
nage them for himfelf. When you have underta- 
ken the management of any affair, make no needlefs 
-delays ; for " hope deferred," though not cruihed, 
;*4 maketh the heart lick." It was the known charac- 
ter of Boaz that infpired Naomi and Ruth with 
fiich confidence in his good offices. Why mould 
you forfeit the thanks of the ferviees you mean to 
do, by wearying out the patience, and perhaps dif* 
.concerting the plans, of thofe who trull to your 
friendlhip ? Defer nothing till to-morrow that may 
as well be done to day, either for yourfelves or for 
your friends. " Who knows what a day will bring 
forth ?" It is faid of Richard II. king of England, 
that he loll his crown and life by being a day too 
late in coming to join his army in Wales. 

When you have tried friends, trull their friend- 
ihip as far as men can be trulled. David was not 
afraid to put his life into Jonathan's bands, when 
Saul, for Jonathan's interell, was feeking his de- 
llruftion. 

Have you no friends to manage your troublefome 
alrairs, or to dire£t your management of them ? Say 
not fo, as long as you are permitted to fay concerning 
Chrill, ** This is my beloved, and this is my friend." 
u Commit your works unto the Lord, and your 

thoughts 



156 THE HISTORY [Led. 10. 

thoughts fhall be eftablifhed. Be not anxioufly 
careful about any thing ; but in every thing, by 
prayer and fupplication, with thankfgiving, let your 
requefts be made known unto God, and the peace 
of God, which pafTeth all underftanding, fhall keep 
your hearts and minds through Chrift Jefus." 



LEC 



Ch. iv.l, — 10.] OF RUTH. 3-51 



LECTURE XI, 



IOAZ, IN THE PRESENGE OF TEN ELDERS GF BETH- 
LEHEM, PROCURES THE CONSENT OF RUTH'S 
NEAREST KINSMAN TO HIS MARRIAGE WITH 
HER. 

Chap. iv. 1,— 10. 



Ver. 1 — Then went Boax up to the gate, and 
fat him down there ; and behold the kin/man of whom 
Boa% fpake came by, unto whom he J aid, Ho 9 fucb a 
one, turn afide, fit down here. And he turned afide^ 
and fat down. 

IYJLarriage is honourable in all," but 
fome make it difhonourable to themfelves, by being 
unequally yoked, or by reprehenfible methods of 
entering into the ftate of marriage. By difhonefl 
means they gain the affections of their partners, or 
tranfgrefs the good and necefiary laws of their coun- 
O trjr 



158 THE HISTORY [Left. 11. 

try by clandeftme engagements. Surely there is no 
bufinefs in life which ought to be tranfa&ed with a 
clofer attention to the revealed will of God, tlian 
one on which fo much of the happinefs or mifery 
of life depends. We are fo far from acting like 
Chriftians, that we proceed upon atheiftical princi- 
ples, if we expect any more joy from changing our 
condition than God is pleafed to give us. We will 
find fatisfa&ion or difquiet, happinefs or mifery, in 
marriage, according to the will of our Maker ; and 
therefore in this, and in all our ways, let us ac- 
knowledge him, and he will direct our ileps. " If a 
man's ways pleafe the Lord, he maketh even his 
enemies to be at peace with him." If a man's ways 
do not pleafe the Lord, he can fet his friends at va- 
riance with him, and poifon the ftreams of his feli- 
city with bitternefs, lamentation and woe. 

Boaz proceeds with candour and opennefs in the 
bufinefs of his marriage. He would not move a 
ftep in it, without letting his intentions be known 
to the only man that had a right to throw obstruc- 
tions in his way, and tranfacls the matter with him 
in the prefence of ten of the moft refpeclable men 
in Bethlehem. Thus he provides for things honeft, 
not only in the fight of God, but in the fight of all 
men. 

" He goes .to the gate of the city." The gate 
was the place of concourfe in ancient times. It 
was the place where courts were held, and where 
the mofl important affairs were difcuffed. The near 
kinfman feems to have been called off his way by 
Boaz, after he took bis feat at the gate. The Lord 
brought hiin to the place where Boaz wifiied to 

meet 



Ch. iv. I, 10.] OF RUTH. 

meet with him. Thus,, when Abraham's fci 
was in the way, the Lend led him to the houfe of 
his maker's brethren* Things'the m'oft accidental 
to us, are regulated by God. 

60 I fitch a one. Did not the facred w T riter know 
the man's name ? Undoubtedly. But he feems to 
have concealed it from us, with the defign of bury- 
ing it in oblivion. The man appears to have been 
more felicitous than he ought to have been about 
the prefervation of his own name, and it is fuffered 
to perifti. He would not raife up a name to M an- 
ion, that he might not mar that inheritance by 
which his own name was to be preferved. But the 
name of Mahlon comes down to the latefl pofterity, 
with the name of Roaz ; while none can tell what 
was the name of the man who was fo anxious to 
avoid any thing that might impair the luftre of his 
family. 

And he turned ajide, and fat down. 

Ver. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of 

the city, and faid, Sit ye down here. And they fat 
down. 

Whether he fent for them before or after he fat 
down, we are not told. He did not proceed to bu- 
finefs till he had abundance of witnefTes to atteft the 
proceedings, and of counfellors or judges to deter- 
mine difficulties, if any fhould occur. " In the 
mouth of two or three witnefTes," fays the law, 
" ihall every word be eftablifhed." " In the mul- 
titude of counfellors," fays the wife man, <6 is fafe- 
ty." 

Ver. 3 And he faid unto the kinfman, Naomi , 

that is come again out of the country of Moab, fell- 
ah 



1^0 THE HfSTORY [Led. II. 

eth a parcel of land which was our brother Elime- 
fecPs. 

Naomi was a poor widow, and yet Hie had a par- 
cel of land to fell. It was doubtlefs fo encumber- 
ed, that hitherto me could not derive any benefit 
from it irnce her return from the land of Moab. It 
was her intereft to fell it, that flie might draw from 
it fome help to her prefent fubfiltence ; and it was 
highly proper, that the firft offer of it mould be 
made to that kinfman, to whom the office of redeem- 
ing inheritances belonged, according to the law. w He 
that hath friends, muft fliew himfelf friendly" when 
he has the power and opportunity, and, when he is 
in diftrefs, may reafonably expect fuccour from his 
friends. 

" This land pertained to our brother Elimelech," 
faid Boaz. All near relations were called brethren 
amongfl the Ifraelites. By calling Elimelech their 
brother on the prefent occafion, Boaz infinuates the 
obligation lying upon them to deal kindly with 
Naomi. When fhe was compelled to fell the land 
of Her deceafed hufband, it was to be expected that 
his furviving brethren would give her better terms 
than ilrangers. If they did not give a larger price, 
they might foften the neceffity that urged her to 
fell, by attentions and favours of no great coil to 
themfelves. 

Ver. 4. — And I thought to adverfife 'thee, faying, 
Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders 
of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it ; 
but if thou wilt" not redeem it t then tell me, that I 
may know ; for there is none to redeem it befides 

thee % 



Ch. IV. 1, — 10.] OF RUTH. 161 

thee, and I am after thee. And he /aid, 1 will re* 
deem it. 

Boaz plainly intimates Iris intention of buying 
Elimelech's land, if his nearefl kinfman found it in- 
convenient for himfelf to do it ; but he felt it his 
duty to give advertifement, in the firfl place, to him 
who had the beft right to do it if he chofe. The 
money of Boaz was as good as his friend's money; 
but it might be an advantage to poffefs the land, al- 
though the full price were given for it, and it feem^ 
ed agreeable to the Jewifh law, that the nearefl 
kinfman fhould have his option. We mult not go 
beyond, or defraud our brother in any matter, great 
or fmall, nor do any thing that has the appearance 
of taking an advantage of him. When land is to 
be fet in tack, artful and clandestine means to ob- 
tain pofleilion of it are fufpicious. The mailer is 
under no obligation to let it to the former tenant. 
He may have juflly incurred his landlord's difplea- 
fure. He may be lefs qualified to make the land 
productive than fome of his neighbours, or he may 
be unwilling to give a reafonable advance in the 
rent. But let no unfair advantage be taken of him 
by his neighbours. If they find themfelves at li- 
berty to enter into bargain with his mailer, they 
ought not to behave towards the former tenant in 
any other way than they would think, it reafonable 
for their own neighbours to behave, to wards them- 
felves in fimilar circumftances. Fair proceedings 
feldom need concealment. " Whatfoever ye would 
that men fhould do unto you, do ye even fo unto 
them." We ought not to account ourfelves upright 
3 men 



162 THE HISTORY [Left. II, 

men, if this maxim does not regulate every part of 
our behaviour. 

There is none ta redeem h hejides thee, and I am 
next unto thee. There was none nearer in relation 
than this kinfman, but Boaz was next in degree. 
" There is a friend that fticketh clofer than a bro- 
ther."- Such a friend was Boaz to Ruth, and yet 
he would not claim the rights of the neareft kinf- 
man, but was in readinefs to perform his duties, if 
he declined the performance. We ought to invade 
no man's rights, but to perform the duties belong- 
ing to every man in his place and relation. Nor 
are we always to confine ourf elves, in performing 
the duty of relations, to thofe which in ordinary 
cafes belong to 1 our degree of relation. An uncle 
may be called, by exifting circumltances, to perform 
the duty of a father, or a nephew to perform the 
duty of a fon. There are fome to whom it is a 
great lofs to have near relations carelefs of their 
duty, or not well qualified to perform it. They 
are neglecled by other relations, who would be kind 
to them, if they did not truft the care of them to 
thofe who are more nearly connected ; or perhaps 
they are glad to have a pretext from the nearer re- 
lationihip of others, to excufe themfelves from trou- 
blefome duties. Boaz was ready, either to redeem 
the inheritance of Mahlon, or to leave it to be re- 
deemed by a nearer kinfman. 

And he /aid I wilt redeem it. His meaning was, 
that he would give the money neceffary for the pur- 
chafe. But, when he heard the conditions of the 
bargain, he declined it. 

Ver. 5.— Then /aid Boa%, What day thou buy- 

■ <ft 



Ch. IV. 1,-16. J OF RUTH. 163 

eft tie field of the hand, of Naomi, thou muft buy it 
aljo of Ruth, the Moabitefs, the wife of the dead, 
to raife up the name of the dead upon his inherit* 
ance. 

When a man dies, his wife muft lofe his fociety, 
and the benefits of his induftry ; but let her not 
lofe what fhe has a right to claim, her portion of 
the common goods, and the friendfhip of his rela- 
tions. The rights of the widow are protected, and 
her injuries are avenged by Him who is " the judge 
of the widow, and the father of the fatherlefs, in 
his holy habitation. " Whatever neceffity Naomi 
was under of felling the land of Elimelech, fhe 
would not deprive Ruth of her juft claim upon it. 
He who buys the land, muft marry Ruth, to raife 
up the name of her deceafed hufband. 

u The dead know not any thing, neither have 
they any more a reward ; for the memory of them 
is forgotten, and their love, and their hatred, and 
their envy, is now perifhed : neither have they any 
more a portion for ever, in any thing that is done 
under the fun." Yet their memory is to be refpecl:- 
ed by furviving relations ; and the refpecl: due to 
their memories, is to be held the more facred that 
they have no more a portion in any thing. When 
they have loft every other thing earthly, let them 
not be bereaved of what may ftill be referved, the 
efteem to which their memory is entitled. They 
cannot hear the voice of friendfhip ; but it was their 
wifh, whilft they were with us, to be remembered 
with kindnefs, when they would no longer enjoy 
our company. And, when we muft die, it would 
aggravate our affliction to have reafbn to think that 

our 



164 THE HISTORY [Left. 11, 

our memorial will periih with us. God provided, 
by a law, for the prefervation of the name of thofe 
who died childlefs. " If brethren dwell together, 
and one of them die, and have no child, the wife 
of the dead fhall not marry unto a ilranger. Her 
hufband's brother fhall go in unto her, and take her 
to him to wife, and perform the duty of an huf- 
band's brother to her ; and it mail be, that the firft 
born which me beareth fhall fucceed in the name of 
his brother which is dead, that his name be not put 
out of Ifrael." 

This law was not exactly applicable to the cafe 
in queftion. The next kinfman of Elimelech was 
probably not his b r °ther-german, nor did he live in 
the houfe together with him. But a cuftom, found- 
ed on the fpirit of the law, feems to have given the 
neareft kinfman a right, by profcription, to the re- 
fufal of a childlefs widow ; and to the widow, a 
right to expect the neareft kinfman in marriage, un- 
lefs fome confiderable objections, from her former 
behaviour, or from particular circumftances, render- 
ed the connection ineligible. 

This law was peculiar to the Ifraelites. Thofe 
who die childlefs amongft us, muft continue fo for 
ever. But we enjoy clearer revelations than the 
ancient church, of the felicities of the other world. 
We need not greatly wifh to have our names regif- 
trated in the records of any city upon earth, or in 
the genealogy of any houfe. It will be fufficient 
for us to have our names written amongft the living 
in Jerusalem ; and, if we have begotten any chil- 
dren by the-gofpel, they will be to us for a name . 
and a crown of rejoicing in the day of Chrift. 

This 



Ch. IV. 1, 10.] OF RUTH. 165 

This honour is to all thofe faints who turn any {in- 
ner from the error of his ways, though not invefted 
with the miniilry of the gofpel, James v. 20, 21. 

Ver. 6 And the kinfman faid t I cannot redeem 

it for myfelf left I mar mine own inheritance ; re- 
deem thou my right to thyfelf for I cannot redeem 
it. 

Unlefs we knew more than the facred liiftorian 
has thought it neceflary to tell us concerning the 
circumftances of this near kinfman, we cannot fay 
whether his objection to the marriage with Ruth 
was founded in truth and reafon, or whether his 
diflike to the match prompted him to make ufe of 
an evafion. It is likely that he had a family by 
another wife, and that he was afraid of injuring it, 
by laying out money on a poffeflion that would not 
defcend to them. 

Young perfons mould not enter into the marriage 
relation without ferious confideration. This is Hill 
more neceffary for widowers with young families. 
By rafhnefs in entering anew into the married ftate, 
they may bring great diftjuiet to themfelves, and, 
may incapacitate themfelves to do for their families 
what they had a right to expecl. Yet it is to be 
feared, that too many decline the married Itate 
through diftruft of divine Providence, or through 
unwillingnefs to forego fome of thofe gratifications 
which the expence and care of a family would 
oblige them to relinquifh. Paul fpeaks of a time, 
when, " for the prefent diftrefs," it was not good to 
marry ; and, at any time, fome are in circumftances 
which make it expedient for them to continue in 
the fingle ftate. But when men find the tempta- 
tions 



I 



166 THE HISTORY [Led. 11. 

tions of a fmgle life dangerous to their fouls, and 
yet abide in it to avoid the expences or the reduc- 
tion in their ftyle of living, which marriage would 
render neceffary, they expofe themfelves to the 
fnares of the devil, by neglecting thofe precautions 
againft fin which human corruption renders neceffa- 
ry. What fins and forrows to young men might 
often have been prevented by prudent marriages ! 

Redeem thou my right to thyfelf for I cannot re- 
deem it. Although this kinfman did not chufe to 
marry JR.uth, he was fo honed as not to wifh to hin- 
der her marriage with another. He was unlike to 
fome perfons, who, whilft they are undetermined 
about marrying the objects of their attachment, ufe 
indirect means to hinder them from marrying other 
perfons" with whom they might be happy. Nothing 
can be a-greater indication of a felfifh and grovel- 
ling mind, than for a man to work himfelf into the 
affections of a young woman fo far as to hinder he? 
from lift ening to the addreffes of others, whilft he 
is balancing in his own mind whether he will mar- 
ry her or not, and behaves in fuch a dubious man- 
ner, that expectations are railed, whilft pofitive en- 
gagements are avoided. Let all young women 
guard againft fuch infidious enemies of their peace." 
A man cannot be truly in love with a woman, when 
his felf-love is fo ftrong, that he attends only to his 
own comfort and intereft, and cares not what pain 
he infiids upon thofe to whom he pretends a re- 
gard. 

Ver. 7, 8 — Now this was the manner in former 
time in Ifrael, concerning redeeming, and concerning 
changing , for to confirm all things : a man plucked, 

. 9ff\ 



Cb. iv. 1, — 1©."] OF RUTH. 167 

off his Jhoe r and gave it to his neighbour, and this 
was a tefiimony in Ifrael. Therefore the kin/man 
/aid unto Boa% t Buy it for thee ; fo he drew off his 
/hoe. 

This ceremony is evidently different from that 
which was prefcribed in the law of Mofes, concern- 
ing the man who refufed to marry the childlefs wi- 
dow of his brother that had dwelt in the houfe with 
him. In that cafe, the widow herfelf was to pluck 
off the man's ffioe, and to fpit in his face as a re- 
proach upon him for refufing to raife up feed to his 
brother. A diftant relation was not under the fame 
legal obligations, nor fubjecled to the fame re- 
proach. 

Significant ceremonies are flill ufed amongft men 
in transferring the property of land from one to 
another, as well as in many other tranfacfiorts of 
importance. They are ufeful for authenticating 
tranfaclions, and preventing difputes for the time to 
come. The kinfman of Boaz net only expreffed 
his refignation of his right in the ears of the wit- 
neffes, but prefented a vifible fign of it to their eyes, 
that all poffibility of doubt or contention might be 
obviated. 4 Here is my fhoe,' faid he to Boaz. 
* He who wears this fhoe, has a right to buy and 
ufe the ground in queilion. Let this be a witnefs, 
that what was formerly mine-, is become yours with 
my confent.' 

The ufe of vifible figns for eftabliihing bargains 
may call to our minds the wonderful condefcenfion 
of our bleffed Redeemer in granting us vifible figns 
of his grace for the confirmation of our faith. As 
oertainly as the fhoe of this kinfman was in the pof- 

feflion 



ia 



IffS THE HISTORY [Left. 11. 

feflion of Boaz, the land which that kinfman had 
the prior right to redeem, now belonged to Boaz. 
As certainly as we are cleanfed by water, and nou- 
rifhed and refreihed by bread and wine, the fymbols 
of the body and blood of the Lord, are our fouls 
cleanfed, nourished, and invigorated, by the blood 
and body reprefented by them. We may fay of 
fuch vifible figns of a covenant, what Paul fays of 
oaths, that they " are for confirmation, to put an end 
to all ftrife." 

Ver. 9 And Boa* /aid unto the elders, an 

unto all the people, Ye are witneffes this day, that 
have bought all that was ElimelecWs, and all that 
was Chilton* s and Mahlon's, of the hand of Na- 
omi. 

Boaz was not afraid of marring his own inherit- 
ance, nor did he feek any pretexts for declining that 
generous bargain which her kinfman refufed. It is 
an happy thing, not only for a rich man himfelf, 
but for all around him, when he is difpofed to ufe 
his fubitance for the purpofes for which Providence 
bellowed it. 

When Boaz makes the bargain, he calls not only 
upon the elders, but upon all the people prefent, to 
be witneffes. He followed the example of his fa 
ther Abraham. He never bought any land but a 
burial- place, and he took all poffible care to obviate 
any contentions about the purchafe to himfelf and 
to his heirs. " The field of Ephron, which was in 
Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and 
the cave which was therein, and all the trees which 
were therein, were made fure unto Abraham for a 
poiTeffion in the prefence of the children of Heth, 

before 



Ch. iv. 1,-10.] OF RUTH. £«§ 

before all that went in at the gate of his city," Gen. 
xxiii. u A. good man will guide his affairs with dif- 
cretion." 

/ have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all 
that was Chilian's and Mahlon's. You fee how 
changeable earthly property is. Men think they 
can fecure it almoft againft death. - By purchaling 
iand, and ufing legal methods for tranfmitting it to 
the offspring of their own bodies, they can poiTefs 
it in the perfon of their fecond felves, after they go 
down to the grave. But although you have both 
children and friends, you can be fecure of no dwell- 
ing, but the houfe appointed for all living ; of no 
larger eftate, than that quantity of ground wliich is 
fufficient to cover your bodies. In the courfe often 
years fojourning in the land of Moab, Elimelech 
and all his fons died, and now his eftate came into 
the poffeflion of Boaz. Here you have no conti- 
nuing poffeuion. Seek a place in the better coun- 
try. All believers in Chrift receive a kingdom 
which will not pafs to others ; but the worli paff^th 
away, and the lulls thereof. 

Ver. 10 — Moreowr, Ruth, the Moabitefs, the 
wife of Mahlon, have I pur chafed to he my wife, to 
raife up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, 
that the name of the dead he not cut off from among 
his brethren, and from the gate of his place ; ye urc 
witneffes this day, 

Boaz was now, in all probability, far advanced in 
years, and yet he feruples not to bring a wife, and 
even a young wife, into his family. It is certainly 
not, in moft cafes, advifable for an old man to 
marry a young wife ; and yet we muil uot reproach 
P men 



170 THE HISTORY [Left. 11. 

men for doing what the law of God does not for- 
bid* It is probable that Abraham married a wife 
when he was old, Gen. xxix. A woman pall the 
flower of her age is not prohibited by 'he. apoitle to 
marry, provided the marry in the Lord. Men and 
women muft judge for themselves in cases where 
the law is lilent. ■" Be ye not unequally yoked," 
is a law which prohibits the marriage of believers 
with unbelievers, or of virtuous with profane per- 
fons. It may be extended, in the fpirit of it, to 
other inequalities which might render the marriage 
ftate uncomfortable or enfnaring to either of the 
parties, which a very great inequality of age would, 
in moil cafes do, But it could not have been ap- 
plied to the cafe of Boaz, although it had been found 
in that part of the Bible which was given to IfraeL 
The inequality of age was fo richly compenfated 
by nmilitude of difpolition and mutual attachment, 
that it made little or no abatement of happinefs to 
either party. 

Moreover, Ruth, the Moahitef. He was not 
afhamed of her extraction. She was a defcendent, 
not of Abraham but of Lot, according to the fkfh ; 
but (he deferved fo much the more refpect when (be 
was a daughter of Abraham and Sarah in faith, in 
well-doing, in patience, and in courage. She for- 
got her own people, and her father's houfe, and the 
eternal King greatly deiired her beauty. 

The wife of Mahlon have I pur chafed to he my 
wife. Ruth was a widow, but not the lefs defi>e- 
able for a wife on that account in the efteem of 
Boaz'. From the duty (lie performed . o Mahlon, 
Jiving and dead, he concluded that ihe would m ke 

the 



Cfl. IV. ■ 1,-— 10.] OF RUTH. m 

the bell of wives to himfeif. She had this advan- 
tage above virgins, that her own works, as a wife 
and as a widow, praifea her in the gate, and all the 
children of his ptople knew that her virtue had 
flood the teft of many trials. 

" I have parch ded her to be my wife," or acqui- 
red a j Lift right to her. It was necenary for him to 
a her eft are, that he might marry her ; but he 
made an excellent bargain,, although the land was 
' uo the legal pofterity of Mahlon, for rt the 

of a virtuous woman is above rubies." Houfes 
a tads are the Liheritance of parents, but u a 

prudent wife is from the Lord." 

To raife up the name of the dead upon his inheri- 
tance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from 
among his brethren, and from the gate of his place. 
Although the happinefs that Boaz expected to en«v 
joy in his connection with a woman fo virtuous and 
amiable, could have been a fufficient inducement to 
him to marry Ruth, yet it was not his only motive. 
He made no vain boaft of his kindnefs to Mahlon, 
when he exprened his defire of perpetuating the 
name of the dead. It was for the fake of the dead 
that Ruth defired him to take her into the mar- 
riage relation, and he mewed all that readinefs to 
comply with her defire which could confift with the 
rights of a nearer relation. It is mean and diihoneft 
to pretend that you do any thing for the benefit or 
credit of your friends, when you are actuated only 
by felf-love. " He that boaueth of a falfe gift, is 
like clouds and wind without rain." It is bafe to 
boaft of your friendly offices to others, when vanity 
dictates your words ; but Boaz profeffed his friend- 

ly 



172 THE HISTORY [Left. 11 » 

ly intentions to the dead with a view to the credit 
of him whofe place he was to occupy. 

But how did Boaz know that his marriage with 
Ruth would keep up the name of the dead in his 
inheritance ? He certainly was not ignorant that 
God alone is the creator of man, and that the 
fruit of the womb is from him. But he believed 
that God would give him feed by Ruth, becaufe he 
was taking that method w 7 hich God had authorized 
for raifing up children to the dead. He married 
Ruth in the faith that God would make his own 
appointed means effectual, if he faw it good, for 
the end in view. Although the letter of the law 
(Deut. xxv.) did not require him to raife up feed to 
Mahlon, he acted on the principle on which the law 
was founded. His expectation of feed by this mar- 
riage is the more obfervable, as Ruth had been hi- 
therto barren, and Boaz himfelf was well {trick en 
in years. Perhaps we mould not err, if we alleged 
that, like his father Abraham, he received a fon by 
faith, although his faith had not the fame difficulties 
to fur mount. 

The men of ancient times feem to have enter- 
tained more ardent wifhes than the people in our 
days, to have their names preferred after their death 
by real or legal defcendents. A name after death 
will be of little ufe to us, if we are not found writ- 
ten amongft the living in Jerufalem. It is certainly 
however our duty, to endeavour to leave a good 
name behind us, by doing thofe works that will de- 
ferve it. " The memorial of the righteous is ever- 
lafting." " A good name is better than precious 
ointment ; and the day of death (to perfons entitled 

to 



Ch. iv. 1,— I©.] OF RUTH. 173 

to a good name) is better than the day o r their 
birth." dhrilt requires us to make our " light fo to 
mine before men, that they, feeing our good works, 
may glorify our Father which is in heaven," When 
our works commend themfelves to the confciences 
of men, they will glorify God on. our account, not 
only whilit we are yet alive, but as long as our 
names and virtues are remembered. Remember 
your rulers and other good men, now with God, 
who once converfed with you on earth, and follow 
their faith, confidering the end of their converfation, 
and then it may be expected that fome will follow 

your faith, when you have obtained the end of it 

the falvation of your fouls. 



F 3 LEC- 



174 THE HISTORY [Left. 12. 



LECTURE XII. 



SrUTH'S MARRIAGE, AND THE BIRTH OF 0BEB. 
CHAP.iv. 10,-22. 



Ver. 10 Te are witneffes this day* 

Ver. 11 And all the people that were in the 

gate, and the elders, /aid, We are witneffes. The 
Lord make the woman that is come into thine houfe 
like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the 
houfe of Ifrael ; and do thou worthily in Ephratah, 
and be famous in Bethlehem. 

IE are witneffes this day. It was highly 
proper that Boaz fhould call the elders and the peo- 
ple to bear witnefs to the purchafe of Elimelech's 
land. It was ftill more neceflary to have witneffes 
of his marriage-contract. Many of the female fex. 
bave keen rendered miferable for life by a clandef- 

tine 



Ch, iv. 10, — 22.] OF RUTHo ITS 

tine entrance into the marriage" flate. Publicity in 
engagements of fuch importance is neceflary to the 
prevention of general licentioufnefs of manners. 
And thofe who break the good laws neceflary to 
prevent immorality, contribute their endeavours to 
promote the interefls of Belial, in oppofition to the 
interefts of the kingdom of Chrift. 

We are witnej/es^faid all the people. They glad- 
ly came forward to bear their part in that generous 
tranfaclion, by which the family of Elimelech was 
to be refcued from oblivion, and, in fome fenfe, rai- 
fed from the grave in which it lay buried. It was 
a grief to the people who entered in by the gates 
of Bethlehem, that a family once honoured amongft 
them, was now on the point of extinction, and with 
joy they declared themfelves the wicnefies of a mar- 
riage which gave them hopes that it would be again 
built up amongft them. 

The Lord make the woman that is come into thine 
houfe like Rachel and like Leah , which two did build 
up the houfe of lfrael. The fruit of the womb was 
greatly defired by the ancient Israelites. It was 
one of the bleflings promifed to them in the Sinai 
covenant, if they obeyed God's teftimonies. 4< I 
will have refpect to you, and make you fruitful^ 
and multiply you, and eftablifti my covenant with 
you." The children of Judah would value this 
blefling the more, in the hope of giving birth to 
the Mefliah, who was to fpring from Judah. The 
men of Bethlehem did not yet know that their city- 
was to be honoured above the other cities of lfrael, 
or that the family of Nahihon was to be honoured 
above all the families of Judah, by giving him birth ; 

but 



176 THE HISTORY [Led. 12. 

but they cordially prayed that Boaz might be blcf- 
fed with a numerous progeny, as the fruit of his 
marriage with Ruth. 

The Lord make the woman that is come into thine 
houfe like Rachel and like Leah, the general mothers 
of Ifrael. Leah was more fruitful than Rachel. 
She was the mother of the men of Bethlehem. She 
was the elder filler ; and yet they put the name of 
Rachel before hers, becaufe me was the wife whom 
Jacob chofe, and who had the bell right to the bed 
of the patriarch. Perhaps they might have another 
reafon for mentioning Rachel with diftin&ion. Her 
hiftory was a Handing memorial of the power of 
God, in giving or withholding the fruit of the 
womb. She was for a time barren ; but God, in 
anfwer to her prayers, gave her two fons who were 
to be the fathers of a great multitude of depend- 
ents. The bleffings requeued for Roaz correfpondV 
to the prophecy of Jacob concerning the pofterity of 
Jofeph : *.* In thee mail Ifrael blefs, faying, God 
make thee as Ephraim, and as ManafTeh." 

Like Rachel and like Leah, who built up the houfe 
of LfraeL Why is it faid that Rachel and Leah 
built up the houfe of Ifrael ? Did not Bilhah and 
Zilpah fhare with them in this honour ? Yes. But 
the children of Bilhah were accounted the children 
of Rachel, and the children of Zilpah were Leah's 
children. This is a comfort to the poorefl mother 
amongft us, that me poueffes undivided the comfort 
of her relation, both to her children and to her huf- 
band. 

The Lord make the woman that is come into thine 
houfe like Rachel and like Leah, which built up the 

houfe 



Ch. IV. 10,— 22.] OF RUTH. l*n 

houfe of IJraeL Boaz brought the woman into his. 
houfe to build up the houfe of Etimelech, but his 
townfmen prajed and hoped that this worthy action 
would be rewarded by the enlargement of his own 
family. He that does good mail receive bleffings 
from men, and mall be well rewarded by God. *' To 
him that fovveth righteoufnefs, mail be a fure re- 
ward." And he may expect a reward in kind, if 
God fees it will be good for him. " The Lord give 
thee feed of this woman," faid Eli to Elkanah, "for 
the loan which thou haft lent unto the Lord." " He 
that forfaketh father and mother, and other rela- 
tions, for my fake," fays Chrift, " mall receive an 
hundred- fold, fathers, and mothers, and brothers, 
and lifters." Nothing is loft, but every thing is 
more than faved, that is, from proper motives, be- 
llowed on thofe men to whom God gives a right to 
our benefactions. 

And do thou worthily in Ephratah. He had 
done worthily, and they hope and pray that he may 
ftill do worthily. It is not enough for us to have 
done what is good ; we mull ftill continue to do 
what is well, pleating to God. Are there not twelve 
hours of the day ? none of them are intended for 
fleep. Let us work during the hours of day the 
work of our divine Mailer, and it will be pleafant 
for us to fall afleep, and to reft from our labours. 
Boaz was now an old man. He muft ftill do wor- 
thily. Although he cannot perhaps do what he 
was once able to do, he may do works no lefs ufe- 
ful to men and pleafing to God. The trees plant- 
ed in the houfe of the Lord, and flourilhing in the 

courts 



ITS THE HISTORY [Led. 12. 

courts of our God, mall bring forth fruit in old 

And be famous in Bethlehem. He was already 
highly eflcemed, and they wiihed his fame to con- 
tinue and increafe by well-doing. A great n irne is 
not greatly to be coveted, but " a good name is bet- 
ter than precious 7 ointment." The poiTeffion of a 
good name, acquired by doing worth ily, fits us for 
doing much good to men, and for anfwering Jie end 
of our life in glorifying God, 1 Pet. ii. 16. 

Ephratah and Bethlehem are two names for the 
fame town. It is fituated, as the name iigiunes, in 
a fertile^fpot of the earth. It more than doubly de- 
ferved this name, when the man whole n me is the . 
Branch grew up oat- of this place, that bleiTed mar* 
who gave his fiefh to be the life of the w rid. 

VhR. 12. — And let thy houfe be like the houfe 
of PhareXi whom Tamar hare unto fudah, of the 
feed which the Lord Jkall give thee of this young 
woman. 

Who could have expected that Pharez, the fon of 
Judah, mould be bleffcd with an offspring fo nume- 
rous, that in him mould Ifrael blefs, faying, " The 
Lord make thee like Pharez in the fruit of thy bo- 
dy." Pharez was the fon of Judah by his daugh- 
ter-in-law. The punifhment denounced againft 
fome inceltuous practices, is, that the perfons guilty 
of them mould be childlefs, Lev. xx. Judah's fin 
was not intentional inceft, but exceedingly blame- 
able ; and yet God, who is rich in mercy, made 
him, by Tamar, the father of a numerous feed, 
of which were many illuftrious faints and heroes,, 
and of which was Chriil himfelf, according to the 

flefh. 






€h. iv. 10, — 22.] OF RUTH. 1T9 

flefli. When Er and Onan died, and no fons were 
left to Judah, but Shelah, whom he was afraid to 
give unto Tamar, he would probably defpair of 
ever having a great name amongft the tribes of If- 
rael; But though his beginning w T as fmall, bis lat- 
ter end greatly increafed. Benjamin had ten fons, 
and yet his tribe was the lead of Ifrael. Judah 
had only three fons left after the deilruclion of the 
two olde.lt, and the birth of two of them was his 
lhanie and forrow. Yet Judah was he whom his 
brethren praifed for the multitude and the glory of 
his race. 

The Ephrathites difcover great ardour in their 
prayers for a numerous family to Boaz. We know 
that their prayers were anfwered in the glory of 
many of his defcendents, 1 Chron. iii. and in their 
great number. 

Whom Tamar hare vnto 'Judah. We all know 
that (lie was a • Canaanitefs, and that me brought 
upon herfelf, and upon Judah, much guilt; but God 
pardons iniquity, tranfgreffion and fill. Her name 
was perhaps tnentioned by the Ephrathites, becaufe 
ilie was of eathe extraction, and of a race of 
heathens of worfe name than the countrymen of 
Ruth. That God, who ade a Canaanitefs whofe 
name was blackened by the vices common in her 
nation, the mother of many in Ifrael, might be ex- 
pected to beftow a like bleffing upon the virtuous 
Moabitefs. 

Which the Lord [ball give thee of this young ivo- 
nmn. The ancient Ifraelites ufed to fpeak of their 
children as a gift bellowed upon them by God, and" 
a gift much more precious than gold or lands. 

There 



ISO THE HISTORY [Le&. 12. 

There are thanklefs men, who account their chil- 
dren a burden. Large families, indeed, may expofe 
poor men to much toil, and to much anxiety in 
thinking what Uiey mall do to find provifion for fo 
many eaters ; but u the Lord will provide," and 
hath commanded us to call all our care upon him, 
becaufe he careth for us. 

Of this young 'woman, Ruth was yet young, al- 
though her hufband, whom me married in her youth, 
was in his grave. This is one great advantage of 
equality of years in the married ftate, that the par- 
ties may hope to live together for a greater number 
of years, than thofe who marry humands or wives 
much older than themfelves. But this hope, like 
all others not founded on the word of God, is pre- 
carious. More perfons die in youth than in old 
age. Boai, it is probable, lived longer with Ruth 
than Mahlon had done. 

Ver. 13. — So Boaz took Ruth, and Jhe was his 
wife ; andwhen he went in unto her, the Lord gave 
her conception, and Jhe hare a fan. 

He took Ruth, and fhe became his wife. He 
did not ramly promife to fpread his ikirt over her ; 
but that conditional promife which he made was 
faithfully, and with all convenient fpeed, performed. 
It is much better to be fpeedy in performing than 
in promifmg. We may eaiily enfnare ourfelves by 
well-meant words. Works are the fureft proof of 
real kindnefs. 

And the Lord gave her conception. Thefe words 
of God to Eve, " I will greatly multiply thy for- 
row and thy conception," was a merciful threatening. 
God remembered mercy to our race, when he de- 
nounced 



Ch.iv. 1®, — 22.] OF RUTH, iStfc' 

nounced the juft puniihment of our fin. Mens brows 
xvere to fweat with toil, but in the fweat of their 
"brows they were to eat bread. Women were to 
feel bitter forrows, that they might learn how evil 
und bitter a thing it was to fin ; but they were to 
enjoy the comfort, in their forrows, of conceiving 
and bearing children. When it is faid, that the 
Lord gave conception to Ruth, it is not a punifh- 
ment but a mercy that is fpoken of. She felt the 
forrows of other women, but fhe bleffed God for 
thefe forrows that were to bring her the joys of a 
mother in Ilrael. 

It is not faid that fhe bare any children to Man- 
Ion, the hufband of her youth ; but to Boaz me 
conceived, and bare a fon, for the Lord gave her 
conception. M He makes the barren woman to 
keep houfe, and to be a joyful mother of children, 
Praife ye the Lord, who forms our bodies fearfully 
and wonderfully, and who creates the fpirit of masu, 
within him." 

Ver. 14. — And the women faid unto Naomi, 
Biejfid be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day 
without a kinfman, that his name may be famous in 
Ifrael. 

The birth of Obed brought gladnefs not only to 
his mother and father, but to Naomi and all her 
neighbours. They 'loved her, and therefore they 
rejoiced in her joy. It was the praife of Naomi 
-that (lie gained their love, by the virtue, the piety, 
the mildnefs of her manners ; and -thofe who be- 
have as Naomi behaved, will, for the mn<l part, 
t gain the affeclions of fome of- their neigl Y s. Ir 
•t&e pooreft women are deititute of friends, let them 
Q^ examine 



82 THE -HI STORY [Left. 12. 

examine their own conducl, and they will probably 
find that the fault is partly in the mfelves. That 
place mud be very deftitute both of piety and vir- 
tue, where an unblemifhed conduct, joined with 
fweetnefs of manners, will procure the affection of 
few or none. 

Our joy in the profperity of our friends and 
neighbours mould be expreHed in thankfgivings to 
God, the giver of all good. Bleffed be the Lord, 
faid Naomi's neighbours, who hath not left thee 
this day without a kinfman. Paul expected that 
many thankfgivings would be prefented to God on 
account of the mercies bellowed upon himfelf, and 
he abounded in thankfgivings to God on account of 
the mercies bellowed on his friends. 

Blejfed he the Lord that hath not left thee this 
day without a kin/man. Whatever joy men give us, 
praife is due to God who makes them the inftru- 
ments of his benefits. In the good- will of Boaz, 
as well as in the birth of his child, Naomi's neigh- 
bours fawreafons to blefs the Lord for his p-oodnefs. 

o 

Her neareft kinfman would not perform the duty of 
the kinfman ; but God left her not without a kinf- 
man. When one friend behaves in an unfriendly 
manner, God can eafily find us, or make us a better 
friend. Let us never be dejected by the unkindnefs 
of thofe from whom we expected favours. All 
"hearts are in the hand of God. When David found 
no favour with his own father-in-law, the king of 
Ifrael, he found much favour with the king of Gath, 
many of whofe people he had killed in the quarrels 
of the king of ifrael. 

He hath not left thee without a fa'nfman, that his 

name 



Ch.iv. 10, — 22.] OF ruth. 183 

name may be famous in IJraeL What fame would 
be acquired in Ifrael by the kindnefs of Boaz to 
Ruth and Naomi ? Was it to be hoped that his 
goodnefs and bounties to them would be known and 
praifed amongfl all the tribes ? It is natural for men 
to think that the a&ions which they admire, mould 
be known and admired by all. The hopes of thefe 
good women were perhaps more fanguine than the 
cafe could juflify j and yet they were more than 
realized. The name of Boaz became famous 
through all Ifrael, and will continue famous among 
the Gentiles alfo while the world lafls, becaufe it 
is mentioned with honour in the book of God. 
Both bad and good actions are often publifhed to a 
greater extent, and continue longer to be known, 
than the doers or any of their friends expected. 
Single atoms have often become the feed of ever- 
lafting praife or cenfure in the world. , Little did 
the woman, who poured the box of ointment on the 
head of Jems, expect, that, wherever the gofpel 
was preached, that which me had done would be 
fpoken of for a memorial of her throughout the 
whole world. Our good or bad actions never die. 
They are written in the book of God. Our bad 
actions may indeed be blotted out by pardoning 
mercy. If they are not forgiven, they will appear 
to our fhame in the next world, and perhaps in the 
prefent. If our good actions are not remembered 
by men, they will be brought to remembrance by 
the Lord. The nearelt kinfman of Naomi "loft an 
opportunity of being renowned in Ifrael, becaufe he 
would hot raife up feed to Mahlon. The name of 
Boaz will live in the church, and what he did will t 
♦ at 



184 TKE HISTORY [Left. IS. 

at the I aft dzy, be publiihed before men and an- 
gels. 

Ver. 15 And hejhallbe unto thee a reflorer of 

thy life, and a nourijher of thine old age ; for thy 
AaughterAn law, which louetb thee, ivhicb is better 
io thee than ' /even > fons, hath born him. 

" For thy daughter-in-law hath born to him (a 
fon)." So fome underftand thefe words, and refer 
them to Bcaz. Our translation is indeed the obvi- 
ous meaning of the words, and agrees with others 
of the moft celebrated vernons. The verfe feems, 
according to this way of reading it, to exprefs the 
liope of Naomi's neighbours concerning the fon 
that was now born to Ruth, that he would be a 
comfort to Naomi's declining years, and would, by 
Jiis virtues, by his kind attentions to Naomi, as well 
as by the tender affection which Naomi would bear 
to him as the only remnant of her family, make her 
laft days as pleafant as her former had been forrow- 
ful. 

Boaz was already, and, they hopejl, would conti- 
nue to be, the nourimer of her old age, and the re- 
Ilorer of her life. What he was, they expected 
his fon would be. Good men have not always the 
comfort of feeing their children walk in their ways. 
But it is very natural for friends and kind neigh- 
bours to hope well of the children of thofe, who 
they know will be careful to train them up. in the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord. 

Bhffed be the Lord, who hath not .left thee with* 
out a Mnfinan, that his name may be famous in If 
raeL Some refer thefe words, not to Boaz, but to 
Hjs fee, of whom the following words are fpoken. 

But 



Ch. iv. 10, — 22.] OF RUTH. 185 

Biit the word which we render kinfman r \s general- 
ly, if not univerfally, to be understood in a fenfe 
not applicable to the child ; and there does not ap- 
pear any abfolute neceffiry to underftand the famt! 
perfon as the fubjecl: of difcourfe in both thefe 
verfes : 6< And he fhall be to thee a reftorer of thy 
life ;" or, u Thou (halt have a reftorer of thy life, 
and a nourifher of thine old age." The God, they 
thought, who had fhewed her fo much mercy, in gi- 
ving her a kinfman* redeemer, had now given her a 
new proof of his goodnefs in the fon that was born 
to him. The fight of him was already a renewal 
of her life, and they fondly hoped that her grey 
hairs would go towards the grave with joy, from 
the good behaviour and kindnefs of Obed. No- 
thing earthly is certain. Naomi had been already 
greatly difappointed in her hopes concerning her fa- 
mily. She had bitterly lamented the change in her 
condition, when fhe came a poor defolate widow to 
Bethlehem. Her fpirit funk within her, when me 
compared her former with her prefent condition. 
But now God fmiled upon her by his providence. 
She had as good reafon, at leait, as her neighbours, 
or as any old perfon could have, to hope that hes 
laft days would be comfortable. 

The time of old age is a time of heavinefs to a 
great part of mankind. It is the time of which 
it is ordinary for men to fay, they have no pleafure 
in it. For this reafon, the children, or grand-chil- 
dren of old perfons, ought to do all they can to 
fweeten to them the bitternefs of that period. If 
you could reilore again the life of your dead pa- 

I rents, would you not do it with joy ? You cannot 
0*3 bring 



1M THE HISTORY [Left. 12. 

bring them again from the grave, when the worm 
is fpread under them, and the worms cover them. 
But you may give them new life before they go to 
the grave, by your dutiful and religious behaviour. 
" Now we live," faid Paul to the Theffalonians, 
" if ye ftand faft in the Lord." Their ftedfaftnefs 
in faith was life to Paul. Such a life the women 
of Bethlehem expected would be given to Naomi, 
by the child born to her by Ruth. How little do 
thofe deferve life, that will not fuffer thofe who 
gave them Jife to live with comfort ! No punifh- 
ment is reckoned too fevere for them who are mur- 
derers of their fathers or of their mothers ; but 
what is life, without comfort, but a lingering death? 
and nothing fa effectually deftroys the comfort of 
the aged, as the bad behaviour of children. If any 
thing can re ft ore that pleafant life which they en- 
joyed in youth, it is the fight of virtuous, dutiful, 
and happy dependents. 

" He fliall be the reflorer of thy life, and the 
nourifher of thine old age." He was to be the 
nouriiher of her old age, not merely by fupplying 
her wants, but by thofe kind regards which give 
far more pleafure to the mind than food gives to the 
tafte. " Pleafant words are like an honey-comb, 
fweet to the foul, and health to the bones." But 
pleafant words are doubly pleafant when they come 
from the mouth of a beloved child. 

Naomi was not the mother of this child, nor 
even, his grandmother, in the common fenfe of the 
word; but {he was his grand mother-in- law, and 
therefore had the fame title to dutiful behaviour 
from him as other mothers or grandmothers. It is 

ftot 



Ch, IV. 1©, — 22.] ©F RUTH, I SI 

not to immediate parents only, but to remote pa- 
rents likewife, whether they be our relations by- 
blood, or by law, or by parental offices, that we owe 
filial regard, " But if any widow have children, or 
nephews," fa}^s Paul, " let them learn firfl to mew 
piety at home, and to requite their parents, for that 
is good and acceptable before God." Grandchildren 
are here meant by nephews. The word has chan- 
ged its meaning fince our translation of the Bible 
w r as made. Yet other aged relations are likewife 
entitled to that honour and duty which their degree 
of relation demands, efpecially when they want 
nearer relations. When rich friends want heirs of 
their own bodies, we hope to profit by them when 
they die. If they are pdor, mould they not derive 
fome advantage from us whilft they live ? If it is 
not in our power to fupply their wants, it is in our 
power to pay them the refpecl due from the neareft 
of their kinfmen. 

Although Naomi was not a relation by blood to 
the young child, {he was his relation by a friendfhip 
that flicks clofer than that of blood. Dearly fhe 
loved Ruth, and Ruth loved her with no lefs warmth 
of affection. " Ruth, thy daughter-in-law, which 
loveth thee, which is better to thee than {cvtn fons 
hath born him." " Thine own friend, and thy fa- 
ther's friend, forfake not," fays Solomon. He 
fpeaks as if we were bound to regard our father 's- 
friend no lefs than our own. Naomi could not but 
love with a fond affection the child of Ruth. This 
confederation, independently of her own legal rela- 
tion to the babe, muft have endeared him to her 
heart. But he muft have been endeared to her 

likewife 



1SS THE HISTORY [Left. 12. 

likewife as the fon of Mahlon, no lefs than if lie 
had been the offspring of his own body 3 as love to 
that deceafed hufband was one of Ruth's great in* 
ducements to defire that marriage of which he was 
the fruit. 

Thy daughter- in law, which is better to thee than 
/even Jons, hath born him. Children of the youth 
are compared by the pfalmift to arrows in the hands 
of a mighty man, and that man is laid to be blefTed 
who hath his quivers full of them, Seven children 
were efteemed by Hannah one of the richeft of 
earthly bleffings. " She that is barren hath born 
feven, and me that hath born feven languimeth," 
But the good behaviour, the filial affedtion, and du- 
tiful conduct of children, is a far greater comfort to 
the parents than the number of them. Naomi had 
only two fons, both of whom were dead, and yet- 
fhe was as happy in Ruth, as other women were in 
the enjoyment of feven children. Great were her 
afflictions, but her happinefs was likewife great, and 
it- was not loil to her in the remembrance of thofe 
children that were not. Thofe perfons are not aU 
ways the leafl happy, who have *experienc?d the 
bittereft trials. Their comforts may counterbalance 
or exceed their afBi&ions. If we are wife, we will 
not think more frequently or more intensely on 
what we have loft, than on what we have ; and if 
the comforts left to us are few in number, we will 
confider whether the value of them does not make 
abundant compenfation for their paucity. God has 
taken from you many children, and perhaps left 
you but one, whilft he has fpared the whole family 
of fome of your neighbours. But if your one fon, 

or 



Ch.iv. 1©, 22.] OF RUTH. 18§ 

©r daughter, excels in virtue, you may find more 
pleafure in your one child than your neighbours 
find in all of theirs. A certain Duke of Ormond, 
who loft a virtuous fon, the Lord Offory, faid, that 
he would rather be the father of the dead Oflbry, 
than of any living nobleman in England. Naomi 
would rather have been the mother-in-law of Ruth, 
and the gr- .dmother-inlaw of Obea, than the mo- 
ther and grandmother by blood of any woman and 
child in Bethlehem, or in Ifrael. Her foul' was 
melted at the remembrance of Mahlon and Chilion, 
but it was cheered by the virtue and happinefs of 
Ruth. 

Ver. 16 — And Naomi took the child \ and laid it 
in her bofom, and became nurfe unto it. 

The infants of our race are feeble and helplefs 
beyond mod of the young of the animal creation ; 
but divine Providence has not left us without a pro. 
tector for our years of infancy. Why did the 
knee prevent us ? Why the breads that we mould 
fuck ? Becaufe a gracious God infufed maternal 
love into the hearts of our mothers. Why did we 
find tender companions in the breafts of thofe women 
who affifted our mothers to rear us up to a firmer 
age ? All the care employed about us in thefe firil 
years of life, we owe to Him who took us fafely 
from the womb. That love of children which na- 
turally arifes in the minds of thofe who have the 
care of them, is wifely appointed as a recompense 
for their pains. Naomi laid the new-born babe in 
her bofom, and became the nuriing mother. She 
3id not reckon it a burden, but a delicious pleafure, 



: 



; 



190 THE HISTORY [Le&. 12* 

to have the care of that precious infant which was 
now the only remnant of her family. 

Some make themielves unhappy, by viewing only 
the gloomy circumftances of what befals them *, and 
others live content and thankful to Providence, un 
der many adverfities, becaufe they view every thin 
in its mod favourable light. Naomi's forrow 
would have fretted her mind, had fhe ccnfidered the 
child of Ruth only as the fon of a diftant relation, 
by one from whom me once expected heirs to her 
own family. A peevifh woman in her place woul 
have faid to herfelf, This child is my fon's only in 
name ; whatever right he may poffefs to our eftate, 
there is no natural relation between him and Mah- 
lon. But Naomi loved the child, not only for the 
fake of Ruth and Boaz, but for her fon's fake, 
whofe name was called upon him. She expected 
from him, in maturer years, all that tendernefs of 
regard which a dutiful child can have to his mother, 
and -felt an exquifite pleafure in thofe painful offices 
which the feeblenefs of infancy requires. Such was 
her attachment to it, that her neighbours fpoke of it 
as if it had been her own child. 

Ver. 17. — And the women, her neighbours, gave 
it a name, faying, There is a fon horn to Naomi ; 
and they called his name Obed. He is the father of 
Jef/e, the father of David. 

It belonged to the parents to give new-born chil- 
dren their names. The firft child born into the 
world received his name from his mother. John 
Baptiii received his name from his father, when 
other friends wifhed to give him a different name. 
Jefus received his name from both his real and fup- 

pofed 



Ch. iv\ 10, — 22.] OF RUTH. 191 

pofed parent, by the direction of an angel. The 
neighbours of Naomi gave a name to the child that 
was born to her, and both (he and the parents ac- 
quiefced in their willies. It adds greatly to the 
pleafnre of life, when neighbours are real friends, 
and when the freedoms of friendship are taken kind- 
ly on both fides. 

Obed fignifies a fervant. The reafon w r hy they 
gave this name to the child feems to have been that 
they hoped he would cherim Naomi, and be obe- 
dient to her will in all things as a fervant. Chil- 
dren ought to ferve their fathers all the days of 
their life ; and in childhood efpecially they ought 
to honour and be ready to ferve, not only their pa- 
rents, but other friends of mature age. Little hope 
is to be entertained of thofe pert children, that will 
rather do what they pleafe than what they are com- 
manded or required to do, by thofe to whom nature 
has given authority over them. The women of 
Bethlehem could not believe that the fon of Boaz 
and Ruth would be one of thofe unnatural children, 
j who refufe to their parents, immediate or remote, 
; that honour to which they are entitled. M The eye 
that defpifeth his father, and refufeth to obey his 
mother, the ravens of the valley (haft pick it out, 
. and the young eagles (hall eat it." Honour thy 
\ father and mother, and all that ftand in the place of 
parents to thee, and thy days fhall be many. We 
have no reafon to doubt that Obed fulfilled the hopes 
] of the women of Bethlehem, and the following ge- 
nealogy gives us reafon to think that he lived very 
j long upon the land which the Lord his God gave 

m : 

He 



: 



192 THE HISTORY [Led. 12, 

He is the father of Jejfe t the father of David, 
If there is no omiffion of names in the following 
genealogy, Obed's grandfather was one of the 
princes who came into the promifed land with Jo- 
fhua ; and his grandfon, David, lived within four 
years of the time when the temple of Solomon be« 
gan to be built. We are told, 1 Kings vi. ths 
the temple began to be built four hundred and eigh- 
ty years after the coming up of the children of If- 
rael from the land of Egypt. Four hundred, and 
thirty-fix years mult therefore have intervened be- 
tween the entrance into Canaan, when Nahfhon, the 
father of Salmon, was dead, and the death of Da? 
vid, who was the fifth from him in defcent. 

1*8, — 22. Now thefe are the generations of Pha- 
rez : Pharez begat Hc*ron t and Hexron begat Ram, 
and Ram begat Amminadab t and Amminadab begat 
NahJhon y and Nahjhon begat Salmon, and Salmon 
begat Boax, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat 
C ^ e f[ e t an d C f e ff e begat David. 

As this genealogy terminates in David, it ap^ 
pears to have been written in his time. Although 
he was anointed with holy oil, he was not afiiamed 
to have it known that his great-grandmother was a 
Moabitefs, and that fne h«d once been a gleaner of 
corn after the reapers. The family of David was 
of princely extraction, and yet feveral of them feem 
to have been remarkable for their humility. Sal- 
mon married Rahab the Canaanitefs. We have 
{ten how Boaz married a poor Moabitefs, and was 
content with the name of Obed for his fon. David 
was the greateft and befl of them all, and no lefs 
eminent for his humility than for his other virtues. 

" What 



€h. IV. 10, — 22.'] OF RUTH. 193 

*' What am I, and what is my father's fcoufe, that 
thou haft brought me hitherto ?*■ 

From this pedigree of David, we may guefe for 
what reafon he committed his father and mother to 
the king of Moab. JeflVs grandmother was a 
Moabitefs. It is not however probable that his pa- 
rents were well treated by that prince. When he 
was forced out of the land of Ifrael, he chofe rather 
to go to Gath, whofe mightieft champion he had 
killed, than to go to the land of Moab. 

Ruth not only became a mother in Ifrael, but the 
mother of the beft and greateft men in Ifrael. I 
queftion whether there ever was a line of kings of 
whom fuch a large proportion were both good an4 
great men as the line of David. 

Infidels have no jufl pretence for alleging that it 
was impoflible there could be fo few generations as 
Eve between the departure from Egypt and the 
building of the temple, at the diftance of four hun- 
dred and eighty years. The life of man was indeed 
Shortened before the days of David, and even from 
the time of Mofes to its prefent period. What then ? 
*' Is the arm of the Lord fhortened ?" He can, if he 
pleafes, give as many years to us. as to Methufelah. 
It is very probable that many of our Lord's ancef- 
tors were eminent for corporeal vigour and longevi- 
ty as well as for better qualities. 

But how are infidels fure that there were no more 
generations than five ? Five only are mentioned here 
and in other places of Scripture, where we find the 
names of thefe illuftrious men. But it is well 
known that the Jews did not reckon themfeives un- 
der an£ neceflity to omit no names in their -genealo- 
R gical 



££4 THE HISTORY, &CC. [Left. 12* 

gical tables. Four kings are omitted in Matthew's 
genealogy of our Lord. I mention their dignity as 
an- evidence that the evangelift, although he had not 
been infallibly guided by the Holy Ghoft, could 
not be ignorant of their hiftory and lineage. 

It was the glory of Ruth to have David, the 
man who was rai fed on high, the anointed of the 
God of Jacob, the fweet finger of Ifrael, mentioned 
amongft her defcendents. The lineage of this good 
woman here ends in this greateft and bed of kings, 
this eminent pattern 'fet before all kings that are 
-blefied with the knowledge of God, for their mo- 
del. 

But it is a far greater glory that we find not only 
her hufband's name, but her own, exprefsly men- 
tioned amongft the anceftors of our Lord. A rich 
reccmpenfe was given her by the Lord God of If- 
iael, under whofe wings (he came from the land of 
Moab to trufl. Yet we have no reafon to envy her 
glory amongft mothers. We are related to Jefus 
by a more endearing and a clofer connection, if we 
do the will of his Father. <4 He that doth the will 
of my Father which is in heaven, the fame is my 
mo'ther, and fifter, and brother*" 



A 

DISCOURSE 

ON THE 

CONDITION AND DUTY 



OF 



UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 






DISCOURSE, &c. 



Jl hat no power lefs than the almighty power of 
God is able to recover us from that mifery which - 
we have brought upon ourfelves, is too evident to be 
denied with any appearance of reafon. We could 
not give unto God a fumcient ranfom for our fouls 
to pacify his wrath ; and when the ranfom has been 
paid down by our divine Surety, it will be of no be- 
nefit to us, if we are not made partakers of ChriuV 
and his falvation, hy the effectual operation of the 
divine Spirit* - We are by nature dead in fin, and 
cannot make ourfelves 1 alive. That divine power 
which made us men is neeeffary to make us faints.. 
It was GodVdefign in the application, as well as in 
the purchafe of our falvation, to fliew forth the ex- 
ceeding riches of his grace.- But if any exertions of 
our own powers can bring us into a (late of falva- 
tion, it is no more of grace, far lefs of the exceeding 
riches of grace, Rom. xi. o*. *' By grace are ye;, 
faved, through faith ; and that not of. y ourfelves .^ 
it is the gift of God. Not of works, left any man 
Ihould boafi ; for we are his workmanfhip, created 
in Chrift Jefus unto good works^ which God bath 
R & before 



198 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTT 

before ordained, that we fhould walk in them,'* 
Eph. ii. 8, — 10. 

But does not this doctrine natively tend to pro- 
duce either defpair or uncertainty in the hearers of 
it, if they apprehend that they are not already in a 
itate of falvation ? If they are earneftly defirous of 
efcaping from the wrath to come, will they not fink 
into defpcndency when they refle£l that neither they 
nor any of their fellow- creatures can deliver them ? 
Or, if they are not much concerned about falvation, 
will they not find a fair pretence in this doctrine for 
fetting their minds at eafe concerning their eternal 
ftate, and for putting off the forrows of a finful and 
miferable condition to a long day ? 

That fuch conclufions were drawn in very early 
times from this doctrine, or doctrines connected with 
k, appears from the objections to Paul's doctrine- 
concerning the fovereignty of divine grace, Rcm,ix» 
19. I am forry to find that fome zealous contenders 
for this doctrine furnim too fair a pretence for fuch- 
conclufions, by alleging that there is no. more reason 
fo hope for the falvation of thofe who are trained 
up to attend the means of grace, than of thofe- who 
tfaft off equally the fear of God and of man. 

The doctrine, that there is no more reaibn to 
hope for the converfion of unregenerate perfons who 
attend the means of grace than of thofe who do not 
attend them, appears to me to be not lefs pernicious 
than the doctrine of thofe who teach that men have 
it in their power, by the ufe of means, to convert 
themfelves. 

If men are made to believe that there is no ad- 
vantage in reading or hearing the word of God, 

unlefo 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 199" 

unlefs they are already converted, what will they 
do ? Perfons do not ufe to undertake any buiinefs ? 
without fome hope of fuccefs and advantage. If 
you perfuade a man, that there is no more hope of 
a crop, though he mould plant and fow his ground? 
than if he leave it wholly uncultivated, will he put 
himfeif to the trouble of performing all the labours 
of hufbandry ? " He that laboureth," fays Solomon? 
" laboureth for himfeif ; for his mouth craveth it 
of him." He that is not ftimulated by defire and 
hope, will do nothing. 

When you advife fome fick perfons to have re- 
courfe to the phyfician, they will tell you that it is 
vain ; the number of our days is fixed by a divine 
decree ; and all the j^Jiyficians in the world cannot 
lengthen the time of our life. Thus, when you tell 
finners that they mull diligently ufe the means of 
falvation, fome of them will fay, why mould we, 
who can do nothing, ufe any means ? Thus they fet 
the decrees of God, or the fovereignty of grace, at 
variance with their duty ; and attempt to break 
that harmony of the doctrines revealed in the Scrip- 
tures, which is no fmall evidence of their divine 
original ; and bring fufpicions upon thofe glorious 
doftrines for which they prcfefe an extraordinary 
degree of zeal. 

In order to explain this fubjec"t, I will enquire, 

I. Whether the utmoft exertion of our diligence 
in ufing the means of grace, will enfure our falva- 
tion. 

II. Whether the diligent ufe of means does net 

render 



SQG ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

render our falvation more probable than the neglect 
of them. , 

III. What directions may amfi us in the profit- 
able ufe of means. 



PAR T I. 

I. Let us enquire, Whether our utmoft diligence 
pi the ufe of means will enfure our falvation ? 

This queftion may perhaps appear fuperfiuous y 
"becaufe it, may be very jaftly queftioned, whether 
there is any unconverted,- or even converted, firmer 
in the'Gbriftian world, that has^ever ufed the means 
of grace with all pofiible diligence. You have react 
twenty chapters of the Bible, perhaps,, in one day ; 
but you might have read thirty,- You have endea- 
voured to pray feven times a-day with a consider- 
able degree of fervour,, but you might have prayed 
ten times with an equal or a greater degree of* fer- 
vour, if you had bellowed more attention upon the 
things that belong to your peace. 

But fupponng a perfon to have ufed as much dili--. 
gence in the public and private exercifes of religion, 
as a natural man, under a deep -concern for falva-i 
don, can be fuppofed to do, is it certain that he will 
obtain falvation ? 

The queilion is not, whether men have it in their 
power to convert themfelves ? We have already 
fliewed, that the exceeding greatnefs of the power 
of God is neceflary to work a living faith, and a 
true repentance, in the hearts of men. 

But 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 201 

But the queftion is, Whether any obligation, of 
any kind, lies upon the Almighty to bellow his 
faving grace upon unregenerate perfons diligent in 
the ufe of means. Would it be confident with his 
goodnefs, confident with the encouragement given 
to finners in the word of grace, to withhold from 
fuch perfons what they feek with the defire of their 
hearts ? or with all that earneflnefs of defire which 
can find place in the heart of the natural man ? 

We muft not allure perfons to their duty by en- 
couragements unwarranted by God in his word^ 
and we not only confefs that nothing done by un- 
converted perfons can give them any claim upon 
that grace, without which they muft perifti, but hold 
the contrary opinion to be an error fubverfive of the 
true do&rine of the grace of God. 

The grace of God in our falvation is free and 
fovereign. Nothing in us moves God to fave us. 
It is his great purpofe in this blefled work to fhew 
forth the exceeding riches of his grace, and the 
grace of God ftands oppofed to human works and 
qualifications of every kind, as the apoflle Paul and 
other holy writers abundantly teach. u That the 
purpofe of God, according to election, might ftand, 
riot of works, but of him that calleth, It was 
faid unto her, (Rebeccah) the elder mall ferve the 
younger. — Hath not the potter power over the clay, 
of the fame lump to make one veffel to honour and 
another to difhonour ?" Rom. ix. 11. 21. 

It is a moft important doctrine in our religion, 
that the ground of our hope in God lies not in our- 
felves, but in his fovereign mercy, in his faithful 
word, in the mediation of Ghrift. To imagine that 

we 



202 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTT 

we have entitled ourfelves to the favour of God by 
our own exertions, is to follow the wretched exam- 
ple of thofe proud men in ancient times, who, 4< gq- 
ing about to efiabliih their own righteoufnefs, did 
not fubmit themfelves to the righteoufnefs of God." 
** To him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned 
of grace, but of debt ; but to him that worketh not, 
but believeth on him that juftineth the ungodly, his 
faith is counted for righteoufnefs," Rom. iv. 4 V 5. 
Thefe words of the apollle are intended to illuftrate 
what Mofes fays of Abraham's faith, Gen. xv. 6* 
Abraham was a righteous man long before the time 
when it is faid, that " his faith was counted to him 
for righteoufnefs ;" and yet the expreffion, fays Paul, 
implies that he confidered himfelf an ungodly man, 
in reference to that blefled privilege. He believed* 
in God to be juftified, without any works perform- 
ed by himfelf, but freely according to the riches o£ 
his grace. If the moft righteous of men look not 
for acceptance with God to any thing in themfehvs r 
how ill would it become thofe who are altogether 
deftitute of any righteoufnefs, to imagine that they 
have a claim to the favour of God for any works 
which they ever performed, or can perform ! 

Whatever ardour unregenerate perfons may feel 
or difcover in religious concerns, it is as true of them 
as of any other perfon in a natural ft ate, that they 
are u free from righteoufnefs," to ufe Paul's ex- 
preffion, Rom. vi. 20. Their ardour is not the ef- 
fect of love to God, but of love to themfelves, and 
God is not bound to thank them for that love to 
themfelves which is not at all mingled with any 
real love to his own name 

We, 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2©3 

- We may add, that, as they are free from righte- 
©ufnefs, they are ftill the fervants of fin, for no man 
before his converfion is fet free from the dominion 
of fin, Rom. vi. 16. And it would be very abfurd 
to fuppofe that God could be under obligations of 
any kind to bellow the bell bleffings upon the fer- 
vants of Satan. They do not indeed perform fuch 
fervice to fin, as thofe do who gratify every finful 
lull without hefitation. They dare not run on fo 
boldly in the ways of perdition as perhaps they 
once did, but they are flill under the dominion of 
one or other of thofe finful lulls, which bring the 
wrath of God upon the children of difobedience. 
There is dill fomething in the prefent world which 
they prefer to God. There are pleafures of fin 
which they prefer to all the pleafures of holinefs, 
although' their fenfe of danger prevents them from 
gratifying their inclinations ; and this wiil often 
manifell itfelf to their own convi&ion and terror. 
For fin, which feemed to die out in them at certain 
feafons, under flrong impreffions of its tremendous 
eonfequences, ufes to collec~l its force when thofe 
imprefiions are abated, and to impel them in their 
wonted courfe of iniquity, either of an external, or 
more frequently of a mental kind. Nor does fin 
ceafe to operate when it feems to have loll its for- 
mer power. What it lofes in one way, it often 
gains in another. When fenfual lulls become bitter 
and loathfome, by the impreffions of the law upon 
their confidences, enmity againll the purity of the 
law, which is the fame thing with enmity againft 
the holy God, rages with uncontrouled violence. 
This Paul himfelf found to be the cafe when he was 

under 



2t)4 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

under the convincing power of the law. What 
worlds would he not then have given for falvation ! 
and yet he was fo far from thinking that he had any 
claim to it from God, that his heart appeared to 
himfelf a ftrong hold of devils, Rom. vii. 8, — 14. 
4< Sin, by the commandment, became exceeding fin- 
ful," and death had poffeflion of his foul. 

Facts are unanfwerable arguments. It is too cer- 
tain that many have fought to enter in at the ftrait 
gate, and have not been able ; that many have 
fought after the law of righteoufnefs, and have not 
attained to the law of righteoufnefs, Luke xiii. 24. 
Rom. ix. 30. The feed of the word has fprung 
up, and promifed rich fruit in many, and yet when 
the day of trial came, it has come to nothing, Luke 
viii. 

I have heard of a gentleman who felt, in a feafon 
of dangerous ficknefs, great terror at the review of^ 
his former life, and was advifed to fend for the mi- 
nifter of the parifh, who might be able to fet his 
mind at reft. The minifter came. The gentleman 
told him, that, if God Would be pleafed to preferve 
him from death, his conduct mould be the reverfe 
of what it had been. He would regularly attend 
jchurch ; he would catechize his fervants ; he would 
regularly worftup God in his family, and in his clo- 
fet ; he would, in fhort, do every thing that a good 
Chriflian would do. His wiihes were accomplished. 
He was thankful for his deliverance, and did not 
forget his promifes. For many months he conti- 
nued, as far as his conduct could be judged of by 
the world, to perform his vows. At laft, however, 
he thought fo much religion fuperfluous. He firfl 

left 






OF UNCONVERTED SINKERS. 205 

left off the duties of the clofet and family. Public- 
duties at laft became likewife too wearifome, and 
he became again the fame man that he formerly 
was. After fome time he was again feized by a 
dangerous diflemper, and was advifed by his friends 
to fend again for the minifter, that he might afford 
frefh confolation to his wounded fpirit. No, faid 
he ; after breaking all the promifes that I made to 
God, I cannot expeft mercy from him. Death 
found him in this unhappy ftate of mind, and car- 
ried him to that world where there are no changes. 

This ftory, with fome variations of no confe- 
quence, may be told of thoufands. Impreflions are 
made upon the minds of finners, which are attended 
with vifible confequences that give rife to favourable 
hopes ; but thefe hopes are illufions. Their " good- 
nefs is like the morning cloud, and like the early 
dew that paffeth away." When the Lord flew the 
children of Ifrael, " then they fought him, and they 
returned and enquired early after God. And they re- 
membered that the Lord had been their rock, and 
the High God their redeemer ; yet they lied unto 
God with their mouths, and nattered him with their 
tongues." They did not intentionally lie. They 
feem frequently to have been fincere in their pro- 
mifes, not indeed with M a godly fincerity," 2 Cor. 
i. 12. yet " their hearts were not right with God, 
neither were they fledfaft in his covenant," Pfal. 
lxxviii. 34, — 37. 

This doctrine, that man can have no claim upon 
God by any thing he can do, is fo plain from Scrip- 
ture and reafon, that the truth of it can fcarcely be 
denied in words by any confiderate perfon j and yet 
S it 



206 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

it is more neceflary to be fpread out to view, and 
confirmed by arguments, than fome doclrines lefs 
generally acknowleged, becaufe the operation of it 
is oppofed by that pride which is natural to the hu- 
man heart, and the contrary error may have a fecret 
influence upon thofe who confefs the truth, and may 
be very pernicious to their fouls when it is not dif- 
cerned. As all men know that they muft die, 
and yet " all men (as the poet fays) think all 
men mortal but themfelves ;" fo all found Protef- 
tants confefs that they muft be juftifled freely, with- 
out any caufe in themfelves, through the grace of 
God j and yet, if they are left under the -guidance 
of their own deceitful hearts, they hope to recom- 
mend themfelves to God's pity by fomething in 
themfelves. They will do all they can, and Chrift 
will fupply their lack of fervice. 

There is a diftincKon made in the doctrine of the 
church of Rome, between the merit of condignity 
and the merit of congruity. And thofe who think 
the former too high an attainment for finful mortals, 
allow of the latter. They will not fay that man 
can deferve any thing from God in juftice ; but he 
may however be entitled in equity to his favour. 
He can perform fuch fervices, that although he could 
expect no recompenfe, if God were ftrictly juft to 
demand a proper price for his favours, yet he cannot, 
without impairing the glory of his goodnefs, with- 
hold an abundant reward. But thofe who renounce 
in words the whole doctrine of merit, "hold it in re- 
ality, if they imagine that it would be unworthy of 
the divine generoiity not to give them that falvation 

which 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2OT 

which the j labour by all means in their power to 
obtain. 

** Who hath flrft given to the Lord, and it mail 
be recompenfed to him again ?" Say not, that though 
your goodnefs cannot reach unto him, yet he cannot 
fefuie to give you what you feek, becaufe you can 
plead his own word, " Seek, and ye mail find." 
His word is true and faithful. But what is the 
meaning of it ? Are your prayers and duties fucli 
as are meant in thefe words ? " Many fhall feek t© 
enter in, and mail not be able." This is no lefs a 
true feying of God, than the words on which you 
ground your plea ; and from the two paffages com- 
pared, it will appear, that there are two very diffe- 
rent ways of feeking God. Many have cried aloud 
to God, and he would not hear them ; although he 
never forfook them that truly fought him. " All 
that call upon the name of the Lord mail be faved," 
Rom* x. II. This is a text of the fame import with 
the words of our Lord, " Seek, and ye mail find ;"* 
but mark Paul's comment upon it : " How then 
mall they call on him on whom they have not be- 
lieved ?" Faith in Chrift is effentially neceffary to 
acceptable prayer, James i. 5. and therefore God 
is true to his promife, and anfwers the prayers of 
all faithful petitioners, whether he beftows his grace 
on unbelievers, or withholds it after all the exertions 
they can make in the ufe of the beft means for ob- 
taining it. 

God deceives no man. If men deceive themfelves, 
they mull bear the conferences of their own folly. 
When they read of God's regard to the voice of 
prayer, if they apply what is faid -to what they are 

pleafed 



208 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

pleafed to call prayer, although it may be an abo- 
mination to the Lord, they are not trufting to his 
•word, but to their own mifreprefentations of it. 
The prayer of faith is his delight ; but furely the 
prayer of unbelievers cannot be entitled to his ac- 
ceptance, for he that believeth not is under the 
■wrath of God. 

The condition of all natural men is the fame. 
They are all *' under the curfe" of God. They are 
all " children of wrath." Some of them are M not 
far from the kingdom of God ;" but however near 
they may be to it, they are not in it. However near 
the man-flayer was to the city of refuge, he was lia- 
ble to be flain by the avenger of blood if he was 
found without the gates. 

" They that are in the flefh cannot pleafe God." 
They may pray with great ardour, but their ardour 
can originate in no principles that can give them the 
madow of a title to divine acceptance. God will 
certainly difappoint no defiles that he has laid him- 
felf under any obligations to gratify. He will ful- 
fil his own promifes, in whatever form the promife 
has been given ; but he is laid under no obligation, 
by the falfe conftructions that felftfli men may put 
upon any part of his word. *' Add not unto his 
words, left he reprove thee, and thou be found a 
liar." 

But if the utmoft degree of that ferioufnefs which 
is the effect, of natural principles does not infure to 
us the grace of God, what need is there of that in- 
quiry which was propofed to be the fecond part of 
this difcourfe : — 

PART 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 20*3 



PART II. 

Whether thofe who diligently ufe the means 
of grace are more likely to obtain it than thofe who 
neglect them, or who are carelefs in the ufe of 
them ? 

To this I anfwer, that God gives us many things 
which we have no ground to claim from him. I 
might have faid, that he gives us all things out of 
the riches of his bounty, when we have no claim 
upon him for any thing. But he has given us a 
claim upon his goodnefs, and even upon his righte- 
onmefs, for thofe things which he has promifed ; 
and therefore Paul fpeaks as if God could not be 
righteous, if he mould forget the works and labours 
of love to his people, for his name's fake, Heb. vi, 
9. But befides thefe things, he gives to men many 
precious blemngs out of the riches* of his goodnefs* 
" He is found of them that fought him not." He^ 
gives food and raiment, and all things richly to en- 
joy, to thofe whom, without violation of any of 
his engagements, he might caft into hell. 

Paul declares, Rom. iii. 2. that the Jews had 
much advantage every way over the Gentiles, and 
yet he -.fays a few verfes after, ver. 9. that the 
Jews were no better than the Gentiles. They were 
both guilty before God. They flood in equal need 
of juftification by free grace, and yet the one had 
great advantage over the other. How ? "Chiefly, 
becaufe unto them were committed the oracles of 
God." Thefe words feem to be a fufficient anfwer 
to the cmeftion before us. If it is a great advantage 
S3 .to 



210' Otf TI^ CONDITION AKD BUTT 

to polTefs the oracles of God, it mud be a great ad- 
vantage to make ufe of them ; for of what ufe can 
it be to pofFefs any thing without ufing it ? The 
mifer is not reckoned richer than the pooreil beggar 
in the country, becaufe he can derive no greater ad- 
vantage from the wealth which he hoards up, than 
the beggar from the pittance which he receives from 
the hand of chanty. The poverty of the one is vo- 
luntary, that of the other forced ; but the nrft is 
not more eaiily remedied than the fecond. It is ea- 
fier for a man who wants money to obtain it, than 
for a man of a fordid turn of mind to find a remedy 
for that mental diforder which makes him the object 
of pity and contempt. 

Let us more particularly coniider, 

1. Why God hath given his word, and appointed 
his ordinances. Is it not for the converfion of fifi- 
ners, as well as for the edification of believers? "He 
eftablimed a teftimony in Jacob, and appointed a 
law in Krael, which he commanded our fathers that 
they mould make them known unto their children ; 
that the generation to come might know them, : even 
the children that mould be born, who mould arife 
and declare them unto their children." For what 
end ? u That they, might fet their hope in God, and 
not forget the works of God, but keep his com- 
mandments ; and might not be as their fathers, a 
ftubborn and a rebellious generation, a generation 
that fet not their hearts aright, and whofe fpirit was 
not fledfaft with God." Pfal. lxxviii. 5,-8. 

Surely God does not appoint means that are not 
likely to ferve the ends for which they are appoint- 
ed. Or, if they have no natural virtue for that 

purpofe, 



OF UNCONTERTED SINNERS. 211 

purpofe, he did -not appoint them without intending 
to give them virtue. It was his will that the know- 

o 

ledge and fear of his name mould be maintained in 
Ifrael. For this end, " he eftablifhed a teftimony 
in Jacob, and appointed a law in Ifrael." But on 
whom was it to operate for the end defigned ? Not 
furely on thofe who paid no kind of regard to it. 
Such defpifers of God were likely to feel the fe- 
vereft effects of his difpleafure ; becaufe when he 
wrote to them the great things of his law, they were 
counted a ftrange thing. In Jeremiah's time, the 
law of the Lord had no eflject upon the minds of 
men, becaufe they would not give it an attentive 
hearing. " To whom mail I fpeak and give warn- 
ing that they may hear?" faid the weeping prophet y 
u behold their ear is uncircurncifed that they cannot 
hearken ; behold the word of the Lord is unto them 
a reproach, and they have no delight in it," 

He commanded the fathers to make known his 
teftimony to the children,, that they might know the 
Lord, and fet their hope in him. Can it then be 
imagined, that they were not more likely to fet 
their hope in God, when their parents did every 
thing in their power to communicate the knowledge 
of the works of God to their po fieri ty, than if they 
had been quite filent ? If this is the cafe, God impo- 
fed on his people a very ufelefs trouble. 

u Go ye into all the world, and preach the gofpel 
to every creature," faid our Lord to his difciples ; 
44 He that believeth, and is baptized, mall be faved." 
Go, and make all nations difciples. Who will fay 
that they might as likely have become difciples, al- 
though the apoflles had never executed their com- 

miflion e 



. 212 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

million, or although the people amongfl whom they 
went had not given them a hearing ?"' Mark xvi, 
1 5, 16". Matt, xxviii. 19. 

2. Cdnfider who thofe nations' are amongft 
whom faints in every age have been found. 

The people of Ifrael in Mofes' days were a very 
§ifF-necked generation. They would not believe in 
God, although daily miracles were wrought among 
them ; yet, where were fo many faints to be found 
as amongft them ? Name that place of the world, 
where they dwelt. Jethro, Mofes' father-in-law, 
appears to have believed in the true God. Perhaps 
there were fome remains of piety amongft Abra- 
ham's defcendents -by his concubines. Yet we 
know that Jethro's faith in God, if it was not pro- 
duced, 'was greatly increafed by what he heard from 
the mouth of Mofes, Exod. xviii. 11. The body o£ 
the Ifraelitifh nation was jittle better than the. hea- 
thens around, yet there were fome amongft, them 
that followed the Lord. I fee no reafon to think 
that there were no real faints amongfl the men 
whofe carcafes were doomed to fall in the wilder- 
siefs. If Mofes himfelf forfeited the poffeinon of 
the good land by his unbelief at Meribah, might 
not fome faints of an inferior clafs expofe them- 
selves to the fame calamity, by unbelief, at Kadefh 
Barnea ? But whatever was the behaviour of the. 
other tribes, we know that there were many of the 
tribe of Levi who obferved God's word, and kept 
his covenant, Exod. xxxii. Mai. ii. 

The generation that entered into Canaan was a 
much better generation than that which came up 
out of Egypt. The Lord had led his people forty 

years 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 213. 

years in the wildernefs, u to humble them, and to 
prove them, and to do them good in their latter 
end ;" and doubtlefs there were many to whom 
real good was done. God ihewed them, under Mo- 
fes and Jofhua, many proofs of his power and faith- 
fulnefs, which made a deep and indelible impremon 
upon their hearts, " and they feared the Lord all the 
days of Jofhua, and of the elders who over-lived 
Jofhua, who had feen the wonderful works of the 
Lord to Ifrael." They enjoyed peculiar advantages 
in what they faw with their eyes. But the won- 
ders of God are Hill to be feen in his fan&uary, and 
thofe who wait at wifdom's doors are likelieft to fee 
God power and his glory, Pfal. lxxvi. I* — 3. 

But why mould I fpend time in fhewing, that the 
great means by which God hath gathered finners to 
Chrift in every age is his word, and efpecially, his 
word proclaimed by his fervants, the prophets, the 
apoftles, and other extraordinary or ordinary mini- 
sters of his wwd ? All who have the leaft acquain- 
tance with the hiftory of religion know that faith 
has ordinarily come M by hearing, and hearing 
by the word of God." The preaching of the gof- 
pel furely can do no good where it is not heard. 
The fuccefs of the apoftles lay not amongfl thofe 
who did not take the trouble to come and hear 
them, but amongfl thofe who attended their mini- 
ftrations. A great and effectual door was opened 
to Paul at Ephefus. There, many were difpofed to 
attend his miniftrations, and many of thofe were 
made to believe to the faving of their fouls. " In 
whom ye alfo trufted," fnys he, " when ye heard 

the 



• 






214 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

the word of truth, the gofpel of your falvation," 
Eph. i. 13. 1 Cor. xvi. 9. 

Thofe who were beft difpofed to hear without 
prejudice, and to think on what they heard, were 
the perfons amongft whom the apoftles expected and 
enjoyed moft fuccefs. The 'Berean Jews, fays Luke, 
44 were more noble than thofe in ThefTalonica, in 
that they received the word with all readinefs of 
mind, and fearched the Scriptures daily whether 
thefe things were fo." What was the confequence ? 
*' Therefore many of them believed," Actsxvii. 11, 
12. 

And it is manifeit, both from Scripture and ex- 
perience, that the gofpel at prefent is mod fuccefsful 
in the converfion of thofe that are trained up to a 
regular attendance upon its ordinances, and are pre- 
ferved by its influence from irreligious and difftpated 
courfes of life. Suppofe that one man is trained up 
from his infancy to attend and to venerate the in- 
ftitutions of religion, and to keep hlmfelf from the 
pollutions of the world, though ft ill a fir anger to 
the grace of God : Suppofe another man to live in 
the habitual contempt of religious ordinances, and to 
indulge himfelf, without reftraint, in the gratifica- 
tion of his lufts j is there equal probability of the 
falvation of either ? The Scriptures exprefsly fay 
the contrary. " Train up a child in the way that 
he mould go, and when he is old, he will not de- 
part from it." Prov. xxii. 6, Thefe words certain- 
ly imply that there is great hope to be entertained 
of a child who receives a religious education. The 
grace of God, it may be hoped, will crown with 
fuccefs the labours of the parent at one time or other 

of 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2l5 

of his life ; for the feafon muft be left with God, 
and thofe truths which are fixed in the judgment 
may have their proper effect, at fome other time, if 
they have it not at prefent. But is there the fame 
hope of a young man who is fuffered from his child- 
hood to gratify his corrupt inclinations, without re- 
ftraint ; or who cafts off all reftraint, that he may 
4 walk in the way of his heart and in the fight of 
his eyes ?" Does not the wife man fay, " He that 
walketh with wife men ftiall be wife ; but a com- 
panion of fools mall be deftroyed. The rod and re- 
proof give wifdom ; but a child left to himfelf 
bringeth his mother to ihame. None that go unto 
her return again, neither take they hold of the paths 
of life," Prov. xiii. 20. xxix. 15. ii. 19. 

3. The vail importance of a found and faithful 
miniftry to the fouls of men is a plain proof that 
thofe unconverted perfons are mod likely to be 
brought into a ftate of falvation who enjoy, and who 
diligently ufe the means of grace. 

The apoftle Paul lays down rules in a variety of 
paffages, for the choice and behaviour of bifhops. 
For what end ? Becaufe it is of the utmoft impor- 
tance to precious fouls, that thofe who rule in the 
church mould be well qualified for their offices, and 
make full proof -of their miniftry. This reafon he 
himfelf affigns : " Take heed to thyfelf and to thy 
doctrine, continue in them ; for in doing this, thou 
lb alt both fave thyfelf and them that hear thee." 
He could not command fuccefs to his miniftrations. 
It was not to be expected that all his hearers would 
be faved. But the more careful he was of his doc- 
trine and practice, the more fuccefs he might ex- 
pect 



216 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

pe& ; not certainly among thofe who made no ufe 
of his miniftrations, but amongft thofe who heard 
the word from his mouth. 

In Jeremiah's time, little good was done by the 
prophets, but much more might have been done by 
them if they had behaved as prophets ought to do ; 
for then it might have been expected that the peo- 
ple would have heard them with reverence, would 
have trembled at the divine judgments denounced 
againft them, and would have repented of their 
wickednefs. " If they had Hood in my counfel," 
fays God, 4C and caufed my people to hear my 
words, then they ihould have turned them from 
their evil ways, and from the evil of their doings," 
Jer. xxiii. 32. The ancient priefts were of an op. 
pofite character to thefe falfe prophets, and their fuc- 
cefs was what might have been expected. Their 
defcendents in the days of Malachi were the fcourge 
of the poor people, becaufe they had degenerated 
from the example of their fathers. M The law of 
truth was in his mouth," in the mouth of Levi, i. e, 
of the priefts who fprung from Levi, M and iniquity 
was not found in his lips. He walked with me in 
peace and equity, and did turn many away from 
iniquity. But ye are departed out of the way ; ye 
have caufed many to Humble at the law ; ye have 
corrupted the covenant of Levi, faith the Lord of 
hofts." 

4. The charges brought againft gofpel- defpifers, 
and the punifhment threatened to them, are evidences 
that they enjoyed fpecial advantages for falvation. 
44 It fhall be lefs tolerable for them in the day of judg- 
ment, than for Sodom and Gomorrah." Why? Be- 
caufe 



OF UNCONVERTED SrNNERS. 21^ 

caufe they were exalted to heaven in the enjoyment 
of diftinguifhing privileges, they mull be thrtift 
•down to hell for miiimproving them. 

God frequently told the Jews that he had fent to 
them all his fervants the prophets, riling up early, 
and fending them ; and yet they hearkened not to 
his voice. Does not this imply, that he hadfeafon 
to expecl: they would hearken to his voice ? Jer* 

XXV, 

" I faw that there was no man," fays God, " and 
I wondered that there was no intercenor," Ifa. lix. 
Surely God knew beforehand that no intercenor 
would be found. But this manner of expreffion 
points out, that it was very furpriling no inter celTor 
was found among a people diftinguimed by-fucli 
privileges. 

" I looked that it mould bring forth grapes^ and 
it brosght forth wild grapes." God knew before- 
hand what fort of grapes it would produce. When 
he fays, that he looked for good grapes, he certain* 
ly means, that there was good reafon to expecl: the 
beft grapes, after he had done fo much for his vine- 
yard. Becaufe, contrary to all reafonable grounds 
of hope, nothing was produced worthy of the huf- 
oandman, he threatens to lay his vineyard defo- 
liate. 

If he had reafon in ancient times to expecl: good 
fruits from his care bellowed on his vineyard, he 
lias now better reafon to expecl: them, when he hath 
fent not his fervants only, but his Son to receive the 
fruits w Surely they will reverence my fon." If 
they Hill difappoint fuch reafonable expectations, he 
T wilt 



218 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

will fend forth his armies and deftroy them, Mark 
xii. 6. 

But enough, and perhaps too much, has been faid 
on a point fo clear ; and jet it may be ufeful to an- 
fwer a few objections. 

It may be afked, in the firft place, how this doc- 
trine confifts with what has already been proved ; 
that there is no neceflary connection between moral 
ferioufnefs and faving grace ; and, that our falvation 
entirely depends on the free and fovereign grace of 
God. 

To this I anfwer, that the fovereignt t of God's 
grace, and the abfolute freenefs of his purpofe of 
election, do not interfere with the ufe of means. 
The very reverfe is the truth. God hath chofen 
the objects of his free love to falvation, " through 
fanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." 
But the belief of the truth is wrought in men by 
the word read or preached, and the fanctification of 
the Spirit is through the fame word, Rom. viii. 2. 
Eph. v. 26. 

The reafon why thofe who wait at the doors of 
wifdom are likelier to obtain life- than others, thofe 
who frequent the houfe of the foolifh woman, is, 
that God, the cn3y author of wifdom and holinefs, 
commands the bleffing in Sion, even life for ever- 
more. M Wherever I record my mime,' 5 he fays, 
" I will come unto you, and blefs you." " I will 
caufe the fhowers to come down in their feafons, 
and I will make all the places about my hill a blef- 
fing." Are not thofe thei molt likely to meet with 
God, and to be refrefhed by his fliowers of blefiing, 

who 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 219 

who frequent the places where he ufes to difpenfe 
them ? 

" The Lord knows them that are his." His eye 
is upon them before they are brought within the 
bond of the covenant. He fends his gofpel to them. 
He ordered Paul to continue at Corinth amidft op- 
position and perfecution, becaufe he had much peo- 
ple in that city. There were many ele£t fouls at 
that time in Corinth, who were not yet believers ; 
and faith was not to be wrought in the hearts of 
every one of them in one day. Paul muil abide pa- 
tiently amongft them till their day of grace was 
come. Whilft they continued in unbelief, God was 
dealing with them by his word, and preparing them 
by the working of his Spirit, through his word, to 
receive with gladnefs the tidings of falvation, when 
they were penetrated with a fenfe of their finful and 
miferable ftate. 

It will be aiked by others, whether it is not gi- 
ving encouragement to miners to reft in their attain- 
ments, without an intereft in Chrift, to inform them 
that they are more likely to attain falvation, than 
I perfons who are utter enemies to all goodnefs and to 
all the means of reformationv 

To this queftion, I would anfwer by another. 
When our Lord faid to a certain Scribe, " Thou art 
not far from the kingdom of God," did he give 
that Scribe any encouragement to continue in his 
prefent condition ?■' Might he not fay within himfelf, 
4 My condition is not fo defperate as that of thePha- 
rifees and Sadducees whom Jefus has this day con- 
founded, by detecting their hypocrify and malice. 
I hope, therefore, that I will never be ranked with 

them 



220- ON- THE CONDITION AND BVTY 

them in another world, although my condition irr 
this mould undergo no change ?' Was it not much 
more likely that he would fay within himfelf, 
4 There is hope in Ifrael concerning me. I am not 
far from the kingdom of God, yet I am not in it. 
How dreadful will be my cafe, if, after all, I mould- 
come fhort, through unbelief, of the bleffings of that 
kingdom to which I am declared to be near ?* 

No doubt, a bad ufe may be made of the doclrine 
before us. Men may, in the confidence that their 
condition is hopeful, reft fatisfted with- themfelves, 
end come mort in the end of that falvation which 
was within their view. Men may abufe any truth 
to their own perdition. But whofe fault is it if 
men will mingle deadly poifon with the moft falu- 
tary food, and make that which mould have been 
for their good a fnare to their fouls ? 

The proper conclufion from this do&rine is, that 
ftnners mould not give way to defpondency, but 
*'*■ feek the Lord' whilft he may be found, and call 
upon hiin whilft he is near." Was the blind man 
encouraged to fit if ill at a diftance from Jefus, when 
the multitude cried, u Be of good comfort, the 
Matter calleth for thee ?" 

It is too true, that many who attend upon gofpel 
inftitutions truft to their diligence, and, conceiving 
that they are in a very hopeful condition, fatisfy 
themfelves with their attainments. But, is it not 
alfo true, that as many in proportion of carelefs tin- 
ners fatisfy themfelves with their condition, and are 
perfuaded that they are in little or no danger of 
eternal condemnation ? We cannot pretend to count 
the number on either fide. But it may reafonahl 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 221 

be concluded from the (late of human nature, that 

nfidence and carnal feeurity abound a great 

deal more with the moll carelefs miners than with 

thofe who difcover a folicitude about their falvation. 

It is natural for men to truft to themfelves, that 
they are righteous, or that they have it in their power 
to acquire, when they pleafe, what is wanting to 
their eternal feeurity. How is this confidence in 
oar own righteoumefs, or in our own powers, to be 
counteracted? Surely the word of God is the mod ef- 
fectual, or rather the only means, to give men jufl 
views- of their real date. Thofe, therefore, who are 
moft converfant with the word of God, are molt 
likely to know what fort of ptrfons they are. Eve- 
ry part of it is full of convincing arguments of the 
badnefs of the flate of unregenerate finners. 

When men neglect the means of grace, they have 
a teacher at home who tells them tKat they are, per- 
haps, not quite fo good as they mould be, but that 
they have many good things to plead in their own 
favour. This plealing doctrine gains an eafy belief, 
becaufe there is no voice to contradict it. Their 
confeiences may fometimes be awakened to remon- 
ftrate, but they will not fpeak with a loud voice, or 
give a certain found, becaufe they are not enlighten- 
ed by the word of God. It is no lefs natural for 
thofe who diligently attend the means of grace to 
flatter themfelves ; but they live within the found 
of a voice which is often crying in their ears, * 4 Ex- 
cept a man be born again, he cannot enter into the 
kingdom of heaven." " Gurfed are they that arc 
of the works of the law." 

This indeed is one of the great advantages which 
T3 



222 0-N THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

unregenerate pericrs derive, or may derive, from 
the diligent ufe of the means or grace. " What- 
foever doth make manifeft, is light." The word of 
God is that light which manifefts men to them- 
felves, Thofe who will not come to the light, 
"• flatter themfelves in their own eyes, till their ini- 
quity is found at lafl to be hateful," when the 
knowledge of it comes too late. Thofe who come 
near the light, are likely fooner to difcover what 
they are, and whofe they are, and what is Hill want- 
ing in them. 

Carelefs firmer* know not how unfit they are 
for doing thofe things which they have, never at- 
tempted. They hear of the deplorable corruption 
of human nature ; but they believe not, or do not 
eonfider what they hear. We find that after all: 
that Scripture fays, and all that philosophers or men 
of experience fay of the vanity of the world, few 
will believe that happinefs is not to be found in 
prefent things till they have tried itv Thofe men- 
will not be perfuaded that they cannot believe, by 
their own powers ; that they cannot repent ; that- 
they cannot pray, till by frequent experiments they 
obtain a powerful conviclion of their weaknefs.. 
And who are they who obtain this experimental 
conviction ? The anfwer is eafy.. The Spirit o£ 
God can work this conviction in any man as fpeedi- 
ly as he pleafes, and, without the convincing opera- 
tion of the Spirit, experience itfelf will leave men- 
unconvinced. But the Spirit of God deals with us-, 
as rational creatures. He makes us not only to fee, 
but. to feel our weaknefs. rhat we may place the 
glory of our flrength in God alone. 

Another 



: 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 



223 



Another objection to the doctrine in queflion is, 
that the beft works of natural men are finful, not 
excepting their moil ardent prayers, and their moll 
earneil endeavours to turn to God. How then can 
they be of any ufe to the doers of them ? 

The Scripture, it muft be allowed, teaches us 
that we are all as an unclean thing ; that much fin 
cleaves to the bell works of the bell men ; and that 
there is no real holinefs in the bell works of unre- 
generate perfons. The flefh lulling againft the fpi- 
rit in the faints, fullies their bell works ; but in 
iinners there is nothing but fklh, in which there 
dwells no good thing, and by which nothing fpiri- 
tually good can be performed.. u To the defiled 
and the unbelieving, there is nothing pure, but their 
very mind and confcience is defiled." 

If the inference drawn from this consideration be, 
that Iinners ought to place no dependence on any 
thing they have ever done, or may refolve to do, we 
allow that it is perfectly juft. Woe to the man 
whofe hope is placed in an heart that is deceitful 
above all things. We mull be abhorred of the 
Lord, if we prefume to hope for his favour as the 
recompenfe of works proceeding from a heart whol- 
ly deprave by fin. Prov. xv. 29. 

But it mufl be allowed that all the works of un~ 
regenerate men are not equally finful. When' Ahab 
clothed himfelf with fackcloth, and walked foftly 
under a.fenfe of divine wrath, the Lord faid unto 
El : jah, u Seefl thou how Ahab humbleth himfelf ? I 
will not bring my wrath upon his houfe in his own 
day s 3 but in his fons days." If Ahab had fhewed 



224 - on the condition and duty 

a haughty contempt of the prophet's threatening, 
would God have fpoken fuch words ? 

The king's repentance was not of a godly fort. 
He mourned for his fin, not for the offence given to 
God, but for the damage done to himfelf and to his 
houfe. Had he repented of his fin from a gracious 
principle, Jezebel would no longer have been able 
to hold him in her chains. Like penitent MariafTeh, 
he would have endeavoured to undo all that ever he 
had done for the fervice of Baal. It is too plain 
that he was ft ill the fame man on the whole that 
he had formerly been ; and yet his humiliation ob- 
tained from God the lengthening of his tranquil- 
lity, 1 Kings xxi. " 

Jehoahaz prayed unto the Lord when he Caw the 
mifery of Ifrael ; and the Lord heard him, and rai- 
fed up a faviour for Ifrael. Of the fame Jehoahaz 
we are told, that he turned not all his days from the 
ISns of Jeroboam, the fonof Nebat, who made Ifrael 
to fin. Why then did he pray to the God of 
Ifrael for help in the diftrefs of his people ? He was 
moved with a tender concern for his people. He 
was deeply grieved for the amiftion of Jofeph. He 
was fenfible that no help could be found in idols, or 
in an arm of flefh, and therefore he prayed earneftiy 
to the God of Jacob, and his prayer was heard. 
Compare his conduct with that of Ahaz, king of 
judah. In his diftrenes, he fought not unto the 
Lord. When the prophet Ifaiah offered him a fign, 
either in the depths below, or in the heights above, 
he would not tempt the Lord his God. He expect- 
ed no help from him. He valued no promifes but 
the promifes of the king of Affyria. He did not 

feek 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 225 

feek the God of his father Jotham, who waxed 
mighty becaufe he truiied in the Lord, but the 
gods of Syria that were not able to protect their 
own country from the arms of his powerful ally and 
tyrant. " Ahaz, in the time of his diftrefs, tref- 
pailed yet more againft the Lord. This is that king 
Ahaz," 2 Kings xiii. 2 Chron. xxviii. 

Both thefe princes were bad men ; but was their 
behaviour equally difpleafing to God in the day 
when trouble came upon them ? Was he not more 
difpleafed with Ahaz for his contemptuous refufal 
of a fign, and for his confidence in nelh, and wood, 
and flone, than with the prayers of Jehoahaz ? No 
man will fay fo that regards the authority either of 
common fenfe, or of the word of God. 

Although no unregenerate perfon can perform 
any work that is fpiritually good, yet the religious 
performances of men of this defcription are very 
different from one another. There are fome who, 
for pretence, make long prayers, and feek only to 
recommend themfelves to men, whilft they pretend 
to worfhip God. There are fome who fall to fmite 
with the fift of wickednefs. There have been fome 
who preached Chrift out of ftrife and envy, and 
there are Hill fome who ferve not our Lord Jefus 
Chrift, but their own bellies, in the performance of 
facred miniftrations. The wxkednefs of all luch 
perfons is extreme. They infult the Moll High 
under pretence of ferving him, and may, too juftly, 
be compared to that detefled traitor who betrayed 
the Son of man with a kifs. 

It is not of perfons of this defcription that we 
now foeak, but of thofe men who, though not re- 
newed 



226 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

newed in the fpirit of their minds, wifh to be faved. 
They cannot, ferve God with godly fincerity, but 
they endeavour to ferve him with all that fincerity 
which refults from a real regard to their own eter- 
nal welfare. Their delires alter the bieiiings of 
grace are not pure and fpiritual, but felfim and car- 
nal. Their works at the bell are but dead works ; 
becaufe they have no principle of fpiritual life, 
without which it is impolTible to ferve the Holy 
God with acceptance. 

But undoubtedly there is a great difference be* 
tween the principles that actuate grofs hypocrites 
who wilfully trifle with God, and thofe by which 
men are actuated, whofe consciences are awakened 
and active, though not purified by the blood of Je- 
fus Chrift. We are not fare that Abirnelech, king 
of Gerar, was a faint, although he had God ? s own 
tetHmony for a certain part of his behaviour, that 
he had a&ed in the integrity of his heart, Gen. xx. 
for there is a fpecies of integrity which may be the 
fruit of natural principles. Without fan&ifying 
grace, we may delire to be approved of God our 
Judge ; and, acting under the influence of this de- 
fire in our religious fervices, (although we are not 
entitled to the acceptance of our works, as if they 
were agreeable to the divine will), yet the doing of 
them is not fo bad a§ the omiflion of them would 
be. We read of fome kings p£ Judah who did 
" that which was right in the light of the Lord, but 
not like David their father," or, " not with a per- 
fect, heart." Whilft they continued to behave in 
this manner, they were not treated by God like 
thofe other kings who are faid to have done " that 

which 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 227 

which was evil in the fight of the Lord." They 
enjoyed the bleffings of Providence as long as their 
outward conduct was conformable to the law of 
God, although they never lived under the influence 
of fpiritual principles. Their fervices were not ac- 
cepted in the fenfe in which the good works of be- 
lievers are accepted. God did not, and could not, 
approve of them as fervices well pleafing to him 
through his beloved Son ; but they were fuilained 
for what they really were'. They were not regard- 
ed by him as evidences of love to his own name 
and to his law, but as works conformable, in the 
matter of them, to his law, and expreffions of thofe 
inward principles of conduct from which they pro- 
ceeded. 

It is not generally believed, nor is it probable, 
that the men of Nineveh generally repented unto 
falvation at the preaching of Jonah. They faw 
that they were expofed to deftruction by their ini- 
quities ; and to prevent, if poffible, their ruin^ they 
turned from the wickednefs of their ways, and from 
the violence that was in their hands. If repentance 
unto falvation had been the attainment of the body 
of the people, it is not to be mppofed that they 
would have become fo wicked as they were in the 
days of Nahum, or of Pul, king of Aflyria. Yet 
God pitied them when he faw their repentance at 
the preaching of Jonah, and repented of the evil 
which he thought of doing unto them. If they had 
not repented in the manner they did, vengeance 
would have been taken upon them at the time na- 
med by the prophet Jonah. For at what inftant 
God fpeaks concerning a nation or a kingdom, to 

pluck 



223 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

pluck up, and to pull down, and to deftroy, ths 
judgment denounced mult be executed, unlefs that 
nation or kingdom repent, Jer. xviii. 

Some would make all finners equally criminal. 
This is not the judgment of God, who fays that 
u Jehoram did that which was evil in the fight of 
the Lord, but not like his father or mother;'* that 
Hofhea, the laft king of the ten tribes, " did that 
which was evil in the fight of the Lord, but not as 
the kings of Ifrael that were before him." From 
the hiftory.of Hezekiah, we have reafon to believe 
that the reafon (one reafon at lead) why Hofbea's 
wickednefs is fpoken of with this limitation is, that 
he was not fo great an enemy to the inftitutions of 
God as his predecefTors. He fuffered his people to 
come up to Jerufalem, to worfhip the Lord accord- 
ing to his appointment. 

This leads us to the principal view in which we 
are at, prefent to confider the good works of thofe 
'uaregenerate perfons, which are the fruits of moral 
ferioufnefs. In thefe works, they make ufe of thofe 
divine ordinances which God hath appointed for the 
converfion of finners, as well as for the edification of 
them that believe. They, in fome fenfe, approach 
unto God, Ifa. Iviii. 2. We often read in the book 
of Leviticus of the approaches made to God by the 
priefts, the Levites, and the people. To thefe. ap- 
proaches, ceremonial purity was required. Spiri- 
tual purity was indeed requifite to an acceptable ap- 
proach unto the Lord. Yet thofe who came nigh 
unto his dwelling-place, werefaid to come nigh unto 
the Lord, whether they did it in a right manner or 
not ; becaufe God dwelt in his fanctuary. Now 

the 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2^9 

the Lord ftill dwelleth in Sion. He hath faid, 
* fc This is my reft ; here will I dwell for ever ; for 
I have defired it." It is impoffible that unregene- 
rate perfons mould come unto God himfelf as their 
exceeding joy, 1 Johni. 6. But they may come 
unto his tabernacles ; and that God who loveth the 
gates of Sion may command his blefling upon them* 
They attend thofe inftitutions by which God ga- 
thers to himfelf .thofe of his chofen people that are 
not yet gathered to him. They make frequent ufe 
of the word of God in private, by reading it, by 
talking of the truths of it, by thinking of them. 
Now the word of God is able to fave the foul, be- 
caufe it is the miniflration of the Spirit. He makes 
the gofpel the power of God for falvation to every 
one that believeth, and he makes it the feed of faith 
to his chofen. 

It may be afked in the fourth place, Are uot many 
attentive hearers of the word left to perifli, whilft 
not a few defpifers of ordinances have been effec- 
tually called ? • 

That many who hear the gofpel, and attend upon 
other divine ordinances, are left to perifli, is too evident. 
And although we cannot pretend to determine the 
eternal flate of individuals, it is too certain that many 
have been fufFered to perifh, who once attended the 
ordinances of grace with great ferioufnefs. There 
is nothing in natural ferioufnefs that necefTarily ac- 
companies falvation. The only fecurity of the ho- 
fieft men in the world from perdition, is that ever-» 
lafting covenant which is ordered in all things and 
fure. The higheit attainment of natural men does 
•2iot raife them above the curfe of the law, and the 
U * power 



2 30 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

power of fin. No man at the laft day will have it 
in his power to fay, that he did every thing in his 
power to obtain falvation, and came fliort of it ; but 
many will fay in that day, We did many things re- 
quired from us, and fought to enter in at the ftrait 
gate, and were not able. Thefe perfons will not be 
found worthy of excufe. Chrift will fay unto 
them, " Depart from me ; I never knew you, ye 
workers of iniquity." They cannot pretend that 
they merited any favour at God's hand, nor will 
they be able to offer any excufe for their innumera- 
ble offences. Many of the fir ft mall be laft, and of 
the laft firft. But whilft the laft that become firft 
muft afcribe the happy change to divine grace, the 
firft that are found to be laft muft leave their com- 
plaint on themfelves. 

From the whole, we may fee what reafon w T e 
have to blefs God for the Bible, and thofe precious 
ordinances that we enjoy. Although we fhould be 
ftill found in a ftate of fin, we are under an admini- 
ftration of grace. "We are favoured with the hear- 
ing of the joyful found, and the Bible tells us, that 
" it is the power of God for falvation to every one 
that belie veth." 

We have reafon to blefs God, that he has deter- 
mined us to hear the joyful found. " Fairh cometh 
by hearing." If faith has not come by o&r hearing, 
we ought to mourn for our ftubborn unbelief ; but 
when our eyes are opened to fee our fin and miltry, 
we ought not to be infenfible to our privilege. 
When our Lord faw many of the Samaritans coming 
to converfe with him, he faid to his difciples, " Lift 
up your eyes, and fee the fields that they are already 

ripe 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS.. 231 

ripe unto the harveft ; ( and he that reapeth receiveth 
wages, and gathereth" fruit unto life everlafting." 
If there were no more probability of the falvation 
of thofe perfons who come to hear the gofpel, than 
of thofe who fpend in idlenefs the moft precious fea- 
fons of grace, what did our Lord mean by calling 
his difciples to look with pleafure at the multitudes 
that were coming to him ? or why did he compare 
them to the fields, or corn, already ripe for the fic- 
kle ? or why did he allege that the prophets, by 
fpeaking before-hand of the coming of the Meffiah, 
had prepared the way for the apoftles, that they 
might labour with hopes of fuccefs ? 

The doctrine under confederation is an encourage- 
ment to minifters of the gofpel to preach the word 
in feafon and out of feafon, efpecially when men 
difcover a difpofitjon to hear the word. At An» 
tioch in Pifidia, the apoftles Paul and Barnabas 
were grieved to find the word of grace and truth 
which they fpake defpifed by their own countrymen ; 
but they were glad to find that the Gentiles were 
not only willing, but earneftly defirous to have thefe 
words preached unto them. They hoped thatfome, 
though perhaps not all of them, would believe the 
gofpel when they heard it, and this hope was not 
difappointed. '« They were glad, and glorified the 
word of the Lord j and as many as were ordained 
to eternal life believed," Ads xiii. 

Minifters are excited to " give themfelves to read- 
ing, to exhortation, to doctrine; to take heed to 
themfelves and to their doctrine ; becaufe in fo do- 
ing they fhall both fave themfelves, and thofe who 
hear them." This argument to diligence and faith- 

fulnefs 



232 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

fulnefs is drawn from Paul's exhortations to Ti- 
mothy, and, in him, to all who are put in truft with 
the gofpel. The commodments of their divine 
Mailer is a -fufScient motive to the utmoft exertion 
in minifterial duty ; and if this had been the-only 
argument ufed by the apoftle, it might have been 
pretended, that, as fuccefs entirely depends upon the 
will of God, who can perform. his work with equal 
eafe by any kind of initruoients or means, it is of 
no cpiifec|uence to the falvation. of fouls, whether 
minifters are furnifhed with/knowledge, and diligent 
and exemplary in doing their duty, or not. But the 
apoftle plainly declares, that minifters may expecl 
to fave not only themfelves, but their hearers, by 
the due performance of their work. 

We juftly blame the Roman Catholics for pray-^ 
ing in an unknown tongue. The apoftle Paul Ihews- 
th.- abfurdity of this practice. Flow ftiall the un- 
learned and ignorant fay Amen to your prayers and 
praifes, if they do not nnderftand what is faid ? 
" Thefe," fays he, " might edify thyfelf, but thy 
brother is not edified if he does not underftand thy 
•words." But if there is no more probability of the 
conversion of thofe who duly attend, than of thofe 
who defpife the ordinances of religion, we might, 
without any prejudice to the fouls of other men, go 
further than the E.oman Catholics. We may preach 
fermons to them in Greek or in Latin, with the 
fame hope of converting finners as if we preached 
the plaineit and moil eloquent fermons that they 
ever heard in their own language. But Paul teaches 
us rather to fpeak five words in a known tongue, 
khan ten thoiifajnd. in one which we do not under- 

Hand. 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 233 

{land. If we fpeak in an unknown tongue, he fays, 
an unlearned perfon will think we are mad. But if 
we could prophefy, unbelievers would be convinced, 
and acknowledge that God is in us. We cannot in- 
deed pretend to prophefy ; but the train of the apo- 
ftle's reafoning proceeds on a principle applicable to 
ordinary miniftrations of the gofpel, according to 
Chrift's appointment. 



PART III. 

Let us now proceed to give fome directions to 
unconverted perfons who are folicitous about their 
falvation, and dare not neglect the ufe of means ; 
but who often tremble, left, after all they do, or all 
that has been done in them by the Spirit of God, 
they fall fhort of eternal life. 

Of what ufe, it may be faid, are directions to fuch 
perfons, if they can do nothing to pleafe God ? All 
that I will fay, or need to fay, in anfwer to this 
queftion, is, that the holy writers give many coun- 
fels to fuch perfons. All that I deiign to fay to 
them is deducible from what Jeremiah, and Amos, 
and other infpired men of God, fay to them. *' Sow 
to yourfelves in righteoufnefs, reap in mercy ; for 
it is time to feek the Lord, till he come and rain 
righteoufnefs upon you.— For thus faith the Lord 
unto the houfe of Ifrael, Seek - ye me and ye (hall 
live. Seek the Lord and ye fhall live, left he break 
forth like fire in' the houfe of Jofeph, and devour it, 
and there be none to quench it in Bethel ; ye who 
turn judgment into wormwood, and leave off righ- 
U 3 teoufnefs 



2'S$ OTT THE CONDITION" AND DUTY 

teoufnefs in the earth, feek him that maketh the* 
feven ftars and Orion.— Save yourfelves from this 
untoward generation,'* Jer. iv. 3. Amos v. 18, 19. 
Hof. x. 12. xiv. 1, — 3. A&s ii. 49. 

We know it. is. our duty to believe in Ghrift, will 
perfpns fay under a deep concern about their falva- 
tion. We have, under a preffing fenfe of our duty 
and neceffity, endeavoured to comply with the gra- 
cious commandment of the Lord, but without fuc- 
eefs.. We find not power accompanying our endea- 
vours. Fears and" corruptions prevail againlt us.. 
We are undone, if God do not reveal his arm for 
our help ; but we cannot pretend to have any right 
to expect his help, any more than others of our pe- 
rifhing race. What mall we do, or what can we 
do? When we would believe, unbelief prevails 
sgainft us. We may well cry out, " Lord, help 
our unbelief." But, alas ! we cannot fay that we 
believe. 

Thefe words may perhaps be the complaints of a 
trembling believer ; for there may be real faith 
where there is but little ftrength or comfort. <4 They 
fhall tremble after the Lord from the weft," fays- 
the prophet. If we follow Ghriil with tremblings 
hearts, *' he will riot break the bruifed reed, nor 
quench thefmoking fiax ;- he. will bring forth judg- 
ment unto victory." 

But if it be really the cafe, that the Lord has not 
yet wrought in you to will and to do, the following 
cautions or directions may be ufeful to you. 

1. It is highly proper that you mould Hill remem- 
ber what your duty is, though confcious of inability 
to perform it» It is your duty to believe on Chrift^ 

fosr 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 235 

for God hath commanded you to believe on the 
name of his Son Jefus Chrift. Your duty is not to 
be eftimated by your powers, but by the revealed 
will of God. The nature o± fin lies not in doing what 
you had power to refrain from doing, but in tranf- 
greffing the law. The law requires all men to be 
ehaile and fober. Yet there are fome men who 
have eyes full of adultery, and who cannot ceafe 
from fin ; or fuch a craving for the pernicious 
draught, that they rauft fwallow it down if it mould 
co(t them both their lives and their fouls. Are they 
not finners before God, becaufe they want power to 
reflrain their inordinate lufts ? Are you not finning 
againft God, when you do not obey the command 
of believing on the name of his Son, becaufe you 
cannot believe ? The reafon that you cannot, is, be- 
caufe you will not. " How can ye believe," faid 
Chrift, " that receive honour one of another, and 
feek not the h.onour that cometh from God only ?" 
In this reproof, our Lord does not extenuate the 
crime of thofe who did not believe. The fault was 
in themfelves. There was fomething which they 
preferred in their hearts to Chriit. There is fome- 
thing, too, which you prefer to him, when the evil 
heart of unbelief makes you to depart from him. 

But to what purpofe is it to torment ourfelves 
with an impreffive fenfe of duties which we cannot 
perform ? It may ferve a good purpofe. It is cer- 
tainly much better that. men mould feel uneafinefs 
than tranquillity, while their duty is unperformed. 
Nothing is more dangerous than to fleep in the midft 
of extreme danger. Ephraim was fenfible of his 
inability to turn to God when the rod of God was 

upon 



236 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

upon him, and at the fame time fen able that he was 
loudly called to return. What was the coniequence ? 
He cried unto him that was able to help him, and 
his cries were heard. * I have furely heard Eph- 
raim bemoaning himfelf thus, Thou haft chaftifed 
me, and I was chaftifed as a bullock unaccaftomed 
to the yoke. Turn thou me, and I (hall be turned ; 
for thou art the Lord my God. Surely, after that I 
was turned, I repented," Jer. xxxi. 18, 19. 

Re nember that it is your prefent duty to believe 
on Chrift. Auguftine confefied that he fometimes 
prayed to God to convert him, but with this refer- 
vation, " Lord, not yet." He wiftied to have fome 
more gratifications to his unful lulls, before he was 
completely turned to the Lord from his evil- ways. 
Thus, there are many who will confefs that it is 
their duty to believe on Chrift ; but the time is not 
yer come when, without prefumption, they can lay 
hold on eternal life. They muft attain fome quali- 
fications which they do not yet poflefs, before Chrift 
can be expected to welcome them, although he hath 
faid, " Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wife 
caft out." 

Why ihould you think that certain qualifications 
are requifite to procure your acceptance by Chrift ? 
Do you not know that your falvation mud be of 
grace ? Have you confidered what it is to be faved 
by grace ? Do not you know that you oppofe the 
grace of God, while you feek fome qualifications in 
your Pelves to entitle you to a participation of- the 
be:efit3 of Chrift ? 

It is indeed certain, that without renouncing all 
felf-dependence, you cannot believe on Chrift. Con- 
fidence 



QF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 237 

fidence hi the flefh is inconfiflent with rejoicing in 
Chrift Jefus, Phil. iii. 3. But how deplorable is 
our perverfenefs ! We endeavour to make put fome 
"kind of title to the falvation of Chrift, by convic- 
tions that we never can have "ny title to him, but 
that which himfelf affords us in his word. 

The devil does all that he can to prevent that hu- 
miliation under a fenfe of fin, which may difpofe the 
fons of men to cry out for a mare in the falvation of 
Chrift. But when he cannot prevent them from 
feeing and feeling that they muft: perifh without 
him, he endeavours, by his fubtilty, to pervert to 
their ruin thofe impreflions which the law of God 
has made upon them. They would make their 
fenfe of poverty a price to purchafe the bleffings 
which are to be bought without price ; and when 
they are confcious that their impreflions of their 
own unworthinefs are but faint, they mult not pro- 
mife themfelves any thing from the Lord till they 
are more effectually humbled. 

Are you fenfible that you muft perifh if you 
have no part in Chrift, and that it is only fovereign 
mercy that can give you a part in him ? Why do 
you feek any farther ? The Lord is gracious be- 
caufe he is gracious, and to whom he will be graci- 
ous. Paul faid unto the Philippian jailor, " Be- 
lieve on the Lord Jefus Chrift and thou malt be fa- 
ved." When the poor man heard Paul's difcourfe 
concerning Jefus, he believed, with all his houfe. 
He did not fay, I muft wait till I be more deeply 
humbled before I believe on Jefus ; nor did Paul 
tell him that he muft fpend fome time under convic- 
tions of fin before he could have a right to believe 

on 



238 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

on Jefus. Thefe words, " Believe on the Lord Je- 
fas Chrift," were a fufficient warrant to him, for 
they were the words of God by the mouth of his 
fervant, and what was faid to the Phiiippian jailor, 
is faid to all who hear, the gofpel, who read the Bi- 
ble. 

What fliould hinder you from doing what God 
commands you to do ? from receiving what God 
gives you to pouefs ? from putting away an ac- 
knowledged fin, the greateft and moil dangerous of 
fins, by which you make God a liar, in rejecting his 
teftimony concerning Jefus Chrift our Saviour ? Do- 
you reckon it prefumption to comply with the will 
of God, to accept of a pardon held out " to you by 
infinite grace ? You wifh to be more deeply hum- 
bled. You cannot be too deeply humbled ; but you 
are never fufficiently humbled till you renounce all 
felf-dependence, that you may depend wholly on 
Chrift, till you are perfuaded that it is fafer and bet- 
ter to do what is right in God's eyes than what is 
right in your own. You will not, indeed, make a' 
cordial application to the great Phyfician, without a 
full convi&ion that your condition without him is 
defperate. But you are not already fully convin- 
ced, that without him you are undone. Your im- 
preflions, you fay, of this melancholy truth, are 'too 
flight. They may be fo. They are fo. And the 
more you know of yourfelves, you will be the more 
difpofed to think fo ; becaufe you will the more 
clearly difcern that your humiliation on the account 
of fin, is out of all proportion inadequate to the ' 
vilenefs and demerit of your offences. If you re- 
fufe to be faved till you know the full extent of 

your* 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 239 

your vilenefs and wickednefs, and till you think 
yourfelves' fufriciently impreiTed with the fenfe of it, 
you mud for ever refufe to be faved. 

Fear not that your convictions of the vilenefs and 
demerit of fin will vanifh when you believe on 
Chrift. Your terrors will indeed be abated or re- 
moved, but your fenfe of your own vilenefs will be 
deepened. You will bell know what unknown ma- 
lignity there is in your tfanfgreffions, when you 
know and believe the love of God in Chrift Jefus. 
You will " remember and be afhamed, and never 
open your mouth any more for fhame, when God 
is pacified towards you for all that you have done.'* 

Do you hope to procure mercy by any thing that 
you can do, whilft you refufe to believe on Chrift ? 
Know you not that the mercy of God is abfolutely 
free ? that Chrift is the only propitiation ? that, 
*' without faith, it is impoftible to pleafe God ?" 
and that the wrath of God afyideth upon the fouls 
of men, whilit they refufe to believe on the name 
of his only begotten Son ? " To-day, there- 
fore, if ye will hear the voice of Chrift, harden not 
your hearts." Let no imaginations of your hearts, 
however pi auiible, prevail on you to reject the coun- 
fel of Chrift againft yourfelves. The gofpel, when 
it produces its proper fruits, cafts down imagina- 
tions, and every high thing that exalteth itfelf againft 
the knowledge of God, and brings every thought 
into fubjection to the obedience of ChriO. 

2. Remember that your ftrength for this duty is 
in God, and not in yourfelves. u No man can 
come unto me," faid Chrift, " except the Father 
which lent me draw him." Thefe words were fpo- 

ken 







240 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

ken to an aflembly confiding in a great meafure of 
unbelievers. He lets them know that they never 
would believe on him without light and ftrength 
from on high. " It is written in the prophets, 
They flaall be all taught of God. Every one there- 
fore that hath learned of the Father, cometh unto 
me." 

Do not think that a fenfe of inability in your 
felves will be an effectual obftru&ion to the fuccefs 
of your endeavours. Why did our bleffed Lord, 
who knew how to fpeak all his words in feafon, 
fpeak of mens natural inability, in a difcourfe in 
which he exhorts them to believe on himfelf, if it 
was improper that they mould be reminded of their 
own weaknefs ? Our great iofs in every inftance of 
our religious behaviour, is, that we are apt to truft. 
in ourfelves ; and, w T hen we feel our own weaknefs, 
co defpond, as if that could never be accompliuied 
which cannot be accornpliihed in our own ftrength. 
At Kadefh-Barnea, the children, of Ifrael refufed to 
inarch againft the Canaani.cs, becaufe they wanted 
courage and ftrength to fight with the fons of Anak. 
Tboy would not hearken to Caleb, and Jofhua; and 
Mofes, telling them that God would be their ftrength 
and their falvation. Thus, through unbelief, they 
came fhort of the promifed reft u Let us labour 
to enter into God's reft, that we may not fall after 
the fume example of unbelief." 

Many complain that they tnve often endeavoured 
to comply with God's call to believe on the name 
of his Son ; but an evil heart has fti.ll', prevailed 
againft them. They do not fee therefore what 
good end will be gained by renewing their endea- 
vours* 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 24* 

yours. They find that their flrength is but weak- 
nefs ; for when they feek to enter in, they are not 
able. 

Remember what our Lord faid to his difciples 
when they faid unto him, " Who then can be fa- 
ired ?" "With men indeed it is impoflible, but with 
God all things are pofiible." It is God that muft 
work all our works in us. When we forget this 
important truth, we can do nothing. But when we 
are weak then we are ftrong, if we can be perfuaded 
that th«r grace of Chrift is fufficient for us. 

" It is God that worketh in you both to will andf 
to do of his good pleafure;" What then ! are we 
to do nothing becaufe God muft do every thing in 
us ? For this very reafon, we muft Work out our 
own falvation with fear and trembling, becaufe it is 
God that worketh in us. 

Your endeavours to lay hold on eternal life have 
hitherto proved vain, becaufe you have forgotten 
that God is your flrength and your falvation. You 
fay that you have been endeavouring to truft in 
Chrift. For what were you endeavouring to truft 
in him ? for righteoufnefs, for pardon, for falvation? 
But have you confidered that you muft truft in him 
for flrength as well as for righteoufnefs ? He is your 
Saviour from fin, as well as from condemnation ; 
your Saviour from unbelief and impenitence, as well 
as from thofe.other evils which fill you with grief. 
Surely in the Lord have I righteoufnefs, fay you ? 
But you ought like wife to fay, Surely in the Lord 
have I flrength. BlefTed are the people that know 
the joyful found 5 becaufe the glory of their flrength 
X h 



242 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

is in him, and in his favour (hall their horn be ex* 
alted. 

Terhaps you will allege, that you would think of 
your duty with more alacrity if your ftrength were 
placed in yourfelves, becaufe you would then exert 
it at your pleafure, and would meet with no difap- 
pointments when you were labouring to enter into 
God's reft, If thefe are your thoughts, you have 
very different thoughts of God's gracious covenant 
from thofe of David. " He hath made with me an 
^everlafting covenant, ordered in all things, and fure ; 
for thjs is all myfalvation, and all my defire." The 
covenant of grace could not be a furer covenant than 
the covenant of works, if our ftrength were in our- 
felves. Adam had power to keep the covenant of 
life if he had pleafed. But his will was changeable, 
and he fell. Let us rejoice that God is become our 
ftrength and falvation. 

If you forget that it is not by your own ftrength, 
but by the ftrength of God, that you mufl be ena- 
bled to believe on Chrift, one of thefe great evils 
will be the confequence : Either you will think that 
you have done the work of God when it is not 
done, and thus your felf- confidence will be encou- 
raged and increafed ; , or by frequent difappointments 
of your endeavours, you will be reduced to defpon- 
dency, and fay, There is no hope. But when 
you remember that the work of faith muft be 
wrought in you by God, you. will be guarded 
againft both thefe extremes. You will be under 
lefs temptation, at leaft, to think that the mere ex- 
ertions of your natural powers have ^ccomplifhed. 
the defired change in your condition ; and when you 

find 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 243 

find that you cannot do what you once thought was 
not ^ery difficult, you will learn to diftruft your- 
felves, and to fet an high value upon thofe promifes 
of grace that are every where found in the Bi- 
Ible. 

" Tbis is the covenant," fays God, " that I will 
make With the houfe of Ifrael after 'thofe days: I 
will put my law in their hearts, and write it in their 
inward parts." By the law, we are to underftancf 
the whole do&rlne of God, including the gofpel 
Sensible that we are undone by the breach of the 
covenant of works, the covenant of grace muft be all 
our defire 5 and, according to this covenant, it is 
God that gives us faith, and difpofes us to that obe- 
dience which is the fruit of it. He writes his law 
in our hearts, when he efre&ually determines us to 
believe oti Ghrift, and to take his eafy yoke upon 
us. Thofe, therefore, who take hold of God's co- 
venant, will truft in his arm. They will not mere- 
ly look for help from him as if they could do fome- 
thing of themf elves, but fenfible that they are not 
fufficient to think any thing of themfelves, it will 
be their defire and hope that he may work in them 
all the good pleafure of his goodnefs, and the work 
of faith with power. 

3. Beware of deferring the duty of believing oft 
Chrift till you feel the power of the Spirit working 
in your fouls. 

It is one of the great principles of our religion, 
that the only rule of our faith and practice is the 
word of God. There are fome enemies of the truth 
mho would have reafon to be the rule of our faith ; 
and others who fobftitute a light within from the 

Spirit* 



244 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

Spirit, for the infallible dire&ory of religion. Socfe 
principles we renounce in our profeflion. God 
grant that our religious exercife may not be tinc- 
tured by them. H Happy is the man that condemn- 
eth not himfelf in that which he approved}." 

We follow reafon, and not Scripture, as the rule 
of our faith, when our practice is regulated by de- 
ductions which our own minds make from the 
truths of Scripture, inftead of thofe conclufions 
which the Scripture itfelf draws. When we will 
not believe on Chrift, becaufe the Scriptare fays, 
that without Chrift we can do nothing, we may aft 
rationally in our own apprehenfions, for it is very 
natural to think that it would be vain for a man 
who has no ftrength at all to attempt to put himfelf 
in motion. Thus the man with the withered apn, 
whom, our Lord commanded to ftretch it out, if 
he had acled upon th.e principles of corrupt reafon 
rather than faith, might have laid to Jefus, 4 If thou 
doft not heal me, do not infult me. Thou knoweft 
that a withered hand cannot be ftretched out by the 
man rjimfelf. Stretch it out for me, or let me feel 
life and power returning to it, and then I will ftretch 
it out.' The poor man neither thought nor a&ed 
in this manner. It was Jefus who fpoke, and Jefus - 
was to be believed and obeyed in hope againft 
hope. 

But we make the light of the Spirit within us the 
rule of our faith, when we refufe to do what God 
requires, till we find power fenfibly communicated 
to ourfelves. Will a minifter preach to any good 
purpofe, without the aid of the divine Spirit ? and 
yet what would you think of a minifter who fhould 

refufe 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 24$- 

refufe to mount the pulpit till he felt the Spirit 
working powerfully in him ? Would you not think 
that he was fit only to be a fpcaker in a meeting of 
Quakers ? And why mould you require more fenfi* 
ble communications of the Spirit in believing than 
minifters in preaching ? It has not feldom been 
found, that minifters have been eminently affifted by 
God to declare his truths to men, when they went 
forth to their work under difmal apprehenfions that 
they would be left to expofe themfelves by their 
own weaknefs. And many, under a perfuafion that 
it was their duty to believe, though fenfible of utter 
inability, have been enabled truly to commit their 
fouls unto Chrift, whilft they could not diftinguifh 
the work of the Spirit from the workings of their - 
own minds; It was the Spirit of God that impref- 
fed upon their minds a fenfe of their obligations to 
believe. It was the Spirit that difpofed them to 
comply with the command of God,. and to filence a 
thoufand objections ftarted .by an evil heart of un- 
belief/ It was the Spirit that fecretly communica- 
ted- ftrength to their fouls, and enabled them to trull 
in the word of grace. His influence was efficaci- 
ous, and overcame every obftru&ion to the good 
work, although they could not fatisfy their own 
minds, and far lefs affure others that they were par- 
takers of fuch diftinguifhed mercy. . 

" Bleffed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flefli and 
blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Fa- 
ther who is in heaven." In thefe words our Lord 
told Peter what, if he knew before, he probably 
did not know fo diftinctly and with fuch certainty, 
as after our Lord gave this teftimony of the divine 
X 3 original 



243 ON THE CONDITION AND DUfY 

original of his faith. Peter firft met our Lord in 
Judea, near the Jordan, and faw plainly that he was 
the Chrift the Son of the living God. He met with 
him afterwards at the fea of Tiberias, where he faw 
fuch a proof of his divine glory in the draught of 
fifties, that he could not, without fhutting h's eyes, 
doubt whether Jefus was the Chrift, the Son of 
God. The evidence appeared fo bright to him, 
that he wondered every man did not fee it. And 
yet Peter would have been as blind as other men, if 
the Spirit of God had not opened his underftanding 
to the evidence of the truth. The difciples did not 
know all that the Lord had been plea fed to do with- 
in their own hearts. When Jefus faid to them, 
** Whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know," 
Thoirjas anfwered him, u Lord, we know not whi~ 
ther thou goeft, and how can we know the way ? 
Jefus" anfwered, I am the way." if they knew 
Jefus, they certainly knew T the way to God and hea* 
ven. f* If ye had known me," fa?d Jefus again to 
his difciples, .<* ye w r ould have known the Father 
alfo* And from henceforth ye know him and 
have feen him. Philip faith unto him, Lord, fnew 
us the Father, and it fufhceth us." Jefus, in anfwer 
to this recpieft, lets him know that he had already 
fhewed them the Father. " Jefus- faid unto him r 
have I been fo long time with thee t an4 haft thouv 
not known me, Philip ? He that hath feen me hath 
feen the Father ; and how fayeft thou then, Shew 
lis the Father ?" 

The Lord's way, in his prov«ience r is often hid 
from our eyes. He paffeth by us, and we perceive 
him not, becaujfe his operations are hidden under the 

veil 



«F UNCONVERTED SINNERS. £4? 

veil of fecond caufcs. Every year we are witnefTes" 
to a thoufand operations of the Spirit, whilfl his 
agency is unobferved. When the defolations of 
winter are exchanged for the cheering verdure of 
fpring, it is by the Spirit of God that the face of 
the earth is renewed. When w© read of the mighty 
exploits of Cyrus, king of Perfia, at a time when 
he knew neither God nor his Spirit, he was the 
Lord's anointed. Thefe noble qualities which made 
him the delight of mankind, were the gifts of the 
Spirit. When your fouls are pofleffed with a deep 
concern about your falvation, and your confciences 
deeply pierced with a fenfe of your fins, the Spirit 
of God is operating upon your minds. Why theft 
fhould you think that he cannot exert his fan£Hfy- 
ing influence in ways not diftin&ly perceived by 
thofe on whom he a£ls ? Mull the kingdom of 
God always come with obfervation ? " Verily thou 
art a God that hideth thyfelf, O God of Ifrael the 
Saviour," and thou haft good reafons for hiding thy- 
felf as well in works of grace as in other works of 
providence ! 

If no man with fafety could believe on Chrifl 
without feeling fenfible operations of the Spirit, 
where would be the glory of the word of God as a 
fufficient and complete rule of Chriftian practice ? 
We could not trull in it, without fenfible figns to 
confirm our belief, Abraham afked a fign from 
God, but his faith was not fufpended upon it. The 
word of God was a fufficient and a fure ground. 
He daggered not at the promife of God through 
unbelief, bm believed in hope againft hope, becaufe 
God had fpoken in his holinefs. 

It 






24S ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

It is* no doubt, exceedingly definable to know 
with certainty that your faith is wrought in you by 
the power of the Spirit. But you ought not to 
complain that God does not beftow all his favours 
at once* The Ephefian converts believed when they 
heard the word of truth, the gofpel of their falva- 
tion ; and, after they believed, they were fealed with' 
the Holy Spirit, the earned of their inheritance. 
Chrift encourages us to pray for the Spirit. " If 
even ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts- 
unto your children, how much more fhall your hea- 
venly Father give his Holy Spirit to them that afc 
him !" Our Lord furely does not mean that we rauft- 
pray for the Spirit, without receiving the Spirit as a 
fpirit of faith to enable us to pray, Rom. viii. 26^ 
But we are enjoined by him to pray for the Spirit, 
becaufe God giveth more grace to them who are al- 
ready partakers of his grace. When, by the influ- 
ence of the Spirit, we pray for the Spirit, God will 
communicate more influences, and nfake us fenfible 
ef his powerful working on our hearts* 

4. Beware of lofing any impremons which you 
have received of the importance of falvation. When 
men, awakened to a fenfe of the one thing needful, . 
and convinced that without Chrift they rauft perifh, 
fuffer the bufinefs or the pleafures of the world to 
Heal away their hearts from thoughts of infinite im- 
portance to their fouls, they fuffer themfelves to be 
hardened through the deceitfulnefs of fin, they im- 
pofe filence upon their own confidences,- they refifl 
the Holy Spirit by whofe agency their consciences 
were awakened, and what if they fhould guench 

the 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 24t 

the Spirit, and provoke him to fay, 4fc They are join- 
ed to their idols, let them alone !" 

Some men will tell you that religious imprefHons 
*are dangerous to your peace, and even to your un- 
derftandings. Some have made themf elves unhap- 
py, and others have loft their reafon, by indulging 
gloomy thoughts about an eternal ftate j and there- 
fore it is your wifdom and your duty to bend your 
thoughts into another direction. Why mould you 
venture any further into the wide fea, than you 
can be fure of returning fafe if a ftorm mould 
rife? 

I confefs fome have brought reproach upon reli- 
gion by the unwife indulgence of corroding thoughts 
fuggefted by fome of its doctrines. Is religion to 
be blamed on that account ? Mens concern about 
their fecular interefl has a thoufand times filled their 
days with diffatisfaction, or deprived them or" their 
reafon, for once that religion, mifunderftood through 
ignorance or folly, has produced thefe miferable ef- 
fects. We call upon you to be duly concerned 
about your eternal interefts, to think of the terrors 
of that ftate of mifery which is prepared for the 
wicked, and to be deeply fenfible of your own 
wretchednefs, if you are ftill in a ftate of fin and 
mifery. Can any thing be more reafonable ? Can 
any thing be more unreafonable, than to allege that 
men mould build their happinefs and comfort upon 
felf- ignorance, upon inconfideration and error ? Such 
foundations of peace are but the bafelefs fabric of a 
vifion, which muft vanifh in a moment. 

If a man is dangeroufly fick, is it an act of friend- 
feip or of enmity to perfuade him that he is well, 

or 



250 ON THE CONDITION AND BUT* 

or that his ficknefs is not of fuch conference as to 
tender it neceflary to call the phyfkian ? If a. man 
is condemned to death, is it a kindnefs to him to 
draw away his thoughts from his condition, when it 
is poflible that a pardon might, be obtained ? You 
may think about your future Hate or not as you 
pleafe, but undoubtedly you are haftening to it. 
u Thus faith the Lord your God, Gonfider your 
ways ;" and who fhall dare to fay, Conuder .them 
not? 

We do not teach do&rine that ought to infpire 
men with defpondency. We tell them that they are 
condemned by the law, but we tell them at the fame 
time that there is forgivenefs with God. We in- 
deed fay, that believers in Chrift only dare in this 
forgivenefs, but we likewife fay that aty men are au- 
thorised to believe on Chrifty and that however 
unable they are of themfelves to believe, there is 
ftrength for them in Chrift Jefus, who is "exalted 
a Prince and Saviour to give repentance and remif- 
fion of fins" to men. 

We warn men to beware of laying afide their in* 
quiries after falvation till it is obtained^ but we are 
far from advifing them to continue under the malig- 
nant influence of defponding apprehenfions. We 
call upon them to receive and reft upon Ghrift, but 
we warn them againft refting in anything but Chrift. 
He is the true refting-place where God makes the 
weary to reft. He alone is " the refrefhing" of 
fouls. 

Beware of thinking that you are fafe in your pre- 
fent condition, becaufe you have felt ftrong deiires 
after falvation, and have been made deeply fenfible 

th 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 251 

that you need fc< abundance of grace, and of the gift 
of righteoufnefs." What fort of defires are thofe 
which leave your minds at eafe, without fome well- 
grounded hopes of obtaining what you defire ? or 
what is the value of your convictions of fin and mi- 
fery, if you can recover ferenity of heart without 
deliverance ? Then we will believe that you are 
fenfible of your poverty, nakednefs and wretched- 
nefs, when you have no reft in your minds without 
coming to " buy of Chrift gold tried in the fire 
that you may be rich, and white raiment that you 
may be clothed, and to anoint your eyes with eye- 
falve that you may fee." David " thought upon 
his ways," and he faw that if the Lord mould have 
marked iniquity he could not Hand. What then ? 
Did he forcibly expel fuch painful thoughts from 
his mind ? or did he crown them in the bufinefs or 
pleafure of the world? He would then have acled 
rather like a Cain or an epicurean, than like David. 
He " waited upon God ;" his foul waited for God 
like them that wait for the morning, and he hoped 
in God's word, and found relief, where only relief 
can be found, in that mercy and plenteous redemp- 
tion that is with the Lord. 

" Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep," fays God 
to finners ; " let your laughter be turned to mourn- 
ing, and your joy to heavinefs ;" and yet we find 
Chrift faying to finners, " Come unto me, and I 
will give you reft." Thefe injunctions are not in- 
confiftent with one another. You muft be afflicted, 
and mourn, and weep, if the wrath of God lies upon 
you, till ycu obtain deliverance frou. the burden 
which is heavier than mountains of lead. But you 

muft 



252 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

muft not continue under this burden when relief, ia 
offered. The man- flayer, under the law, would 
tremble till he was fafe within the gates of the city 
of refuge ; and till he obtained this fecurity, it was 
good for him to feel that fear which was neceflkry 
to urge his flight to the place of fafety. When we 
believe on Chrift, we u flee for refuge to lay hold 
on the hope fet before us ;" and till we are found 
in him, we are in conftant danger. We have no af- 
furance of having our natural life protracted a Angle 
moment, and if we were fure of living for years^ 
ftill we are under the curfe of God's law till we 
are delivered from it through him who was made 
a curfe for us. 

5. Beware of turning back to any of thofe habits 
of fin which have been embittered to you by your 
convictions of the evil of your former conduct. 

Perhaps fome may think that this exhortation is 
fit only to be given to thofe who have believed 
through grace, becaufe none but they have been 
truly converted from fin to God. We are the fer- 
vants of fin, till we from the heart obey that form 
of doctrine into which we are delivered, Rom. vi. 
16. We cannot mortify the deeds of the body but 
by the grace of the fanctifying Spirit, Rom. viii. ia. 
and therefore we cannot hope to refift with fuccefs 
the folicitations of our fenfual lufts, till by "the law 
of the Spirit of life in Chrift Jefus, we are fet free 
from the law of fin and death." 

This is a certain truth, that whilft we are under 
the law, fin will retain the dominion over us, and 
work in our members to bring forth fruit unto 
death ; and therefore we need not hope to enjoy tfhe 

glorious 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 253 

glorious liberty of the fons of God, till his only be- 
gotten Son make us free. Yet the fervants of fin 
may refufe obedience to fome of its commands ; al- 
though its throne is eftablifhed in their hearts, they 
may rebel in many inftances of their conducT:. We 
read of fome unregenerate finners that " have efca- 
ped the pollutions of the world through the know- 
ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift." If 
they have efcaped the grofs pollutions that ftain the 
children of difobedience, they are not taken captive 
by Satan at his pleafure to fuch a degree as the men 
that are pail feeling, and have given themfelves over 
to licentioufnefs. All men are the bond-flaves of 
this cruel tyrant ; but all are not fo depraved as 
Ahab, who " fold himfelf to work wickednefs in 
the fight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife ftirred 
up." Nor was even Ahab himfelf fo defperately 
bent to ferve fin in all its lufls as his wife. 

The apoftle fays, that men may efcape the pollu- 
tions that are in the world through luft, and yet be 
entangled again and overcome, and that the laft 
itaie of fuch men is worfe than their firft. They 
were ftill but dogs and fwine, and yet they enjoyed 
fome kind of liberty when they had made their 
efcape from the corruptions that are in the world ; 
for if they did not in a comparative fenfe enjoy li- 
berty, how would they be again entangled and over- 
come? 

In fact, we find by experience the truth of both 
thefe obfervations, however inconfiftent they may 
appear to fuperficial obfervers. We find it impof- 
fible to free our hearts from that difaffe&ion to the 
purity of the law, from that love of the pleasures, 
Y or 



254 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

or honours, or other vanities of the world, which 
is inconfiftent with a fupreme love to God. We 
find, however, that we may keep our tongues from 
fpeaking wilful falfehood, our hands from robbery 
and Health, our mouths from excefs in eating or 
drinking. We may even exercife fome govern- 
ment over our thoughts. I fpeak however of thofe 
only who have not fold themfelves to work wick- 
ednefs, like Ahab ; for it is to be confeffed, that 
fome men by the licentious indulgence of particular 
lulls, have given them fuch abfolute power, that 
they cannot ceafe from their habitual fins. 

When, through the power of conviction, and that 
ftrong defire of eternal life which is to be found in 
many of the fervants of fin, you have been made to 
abftain from thofe fins in which you formerly walk- 
ed, beware of returning to your former follies ; for 
if you do, fays the apoftle, your laft ftate is -worfe 
than your firfl, 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. He fpeak s of three 
different ftates of fuch perfons. The firft ftate pre- 
ceded their knowledge of Chrift. Their fecond 
ftate is the effect ol their knowledge of Chrift. The 
laft ftate is worfe than the firft, although whilft 
they were in that ftate they had not eicaprd the cor- 
ruptions which are in the world through luft. They 
are apoftates, and what finners are more inexccfable 
than apoftates ? God's foul can have no pleafure in 
them, becaufe they have been vexing his Holy Spi- 
rit by their determined oppoiition, not only to his 
word, but tojiis operations upon their own hearts 
and confciences. 

You may fee from this obfervation of the apof- 
tle, in what fenfe, and with what limitations, we are 

to 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 255 

to be underftood when we fay, that there is more 
reafon to hope well of unregenerate perfons when 
they ufe the means of grace diligently, than of 
others who neglect them. " The firft," fays our 
Lord, *' fhali be lad." This awful faying is veri- 
fi i when the iaft ftate of men becomes worfe than 
their firft ; becaufe they return to the practice of 
thofe evils which they had once renounced, againft 
which they had formed ftrong refolutions, and made 
many vows. Their attainments are a great aggra- 
vation of their guilt. They are in equal danger ei- 
ther of falling under tormenting perplexities or de- 
fpair, or, what is no better than defpair, of finking 
into abfolute indifference about their falvation, or 
into downright infidelity. 

The apoftle fpeaks of a danger of apoftafy which 
renders mens condition utterly hopelefs, Heb. vi. 
Although we have reafon to think that the fin which 
he fpeaks of in that place is uncommon, yet the 
paflage is an ufeful and neceflary warning againft 
apoftafy of any kind. We muft keep ourfelves at 
the utmoft diftance from thofe fins which prove fa- 
tal to all who fall into them. We cannot convert 
ourfelves, we cannot do any thing that can infure 
our converfion ; but we have it in our power to 
make our condition a great deal worfe. We gave 
ourfelves many deadly wounds before we were 
awakened to a ferious concern about our falvation, 
We can make no excufe for the fins of that period 
of life ; but the fins into which we fall after God 
has been dealing with our confciences by his word 
and Spirit, are doubly inexcufable. Why fhould 
we rufh, with our eyes open, upon the thick boffes 

of 



256 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

of God's buckler ? Why mould we vex that Holy 
Spirit, by whofe grace alone we can be tranflated 
into the kingdom of God's dear Son ? 

Mofes, in the book of Deuteronomy, addreffes dif- 
courfes full of heavenly eloquence to a people to whom 
he fays, that u God had not given them eyes to fee, nor 
ears to hear j" and yet he fays that they had "cleaved 
to the Lord their God," Deut.xxix.-4. iv. 3,4. Some 
of them, it is certain, were partakers of the convert- 
ing grace of God ; but great multitudes were ftill 
in a ftate of blindnefs. Yet he fpeaks of all of 
them as of perfons that had cleaved to God in op- 
pofition to idols. •* Ye have feen what the Lord 
did becaufe of Baal-Peor ; for all the men that fol- 
lowed Baal-Peor, the Lord thy God hath deftroyed 
from among you. But ye that did cleave to the 
Lord your God are alive, every one of you this 
day." Mofes obferves to them, and calls them to 
obferve, what difference God had made between 
thofe who clave to Baal-Peor, and thofe who clave 
to the God of Ifrael, and earneftly exhorts them to 
keep themfelves for all time coming from idols of 
every kind. This exhortation he enforces by ar- 
guments that might be expected to make a forcible 
impreliion, not only upon thofe few who had eyes 
to fee, and ears to hear, thofe things which belonged 
unto their eternal welfare, but upon all who were 
not enemies to their prefent as well as future wel- 
fare, Deut. iv. 

We cannot keep ourfelves from any fin, unlefs 
we are preferved by the retraining grace of God, 
and he beftows much retraining grace upon thofe 
who partake not of his fan&ifying grace. Unrege- 

ncrate 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 257 

tfierate perfons may be kept from evils into which 
real faints are fufFered. to fall. Many unconverted 
perfons never committed adultery or murder in their 
lives, although David was permitted to commit 
both, and certainly, in the general courfe of his life, 
was more chafte and humane than the proudeft of 
thofe boafters who thank God that they are not as 
other men, not impure and fenfual, but fober and 
beneficent. 

It is by means fuited to human nature, and to that 
particular condition in which men are, that God 
preferves them from fin. He preferves unregene- 
rate men from fin by means of their confidences, 
and of thofe other principles of conduct by which 
their lives are governed. Thus JoafriH, king of Ju- 
dah, was preferved from idolatry all the days of Je- 
hoiada, by his reverence for that holy man, and by 
means of thofe motives by which Jehoiada enforced 
his in ft ructions. And we may warrantably pray 
that God would enforce upon our rninds ; thofe mo- 
tives which his own word fuggefts for keeping us 
from fin. Although we are by no means to fatisfy 
ourfelves with thefe favours of retraining grace, 
which are no figns of God ? s fpecial love,, yet we 
are to account it a great mercy that he hath kept us 
from fo many evils into which our corrupt luffs 
would have drawn us.- And we are to pray that 
God would flill keep us from every evil thing, and 
powerfully imprefs upon our hearts thofe arguments 
by which we may be kept from the evils that we 
ought to abhor. At the fame time it is to be re- 
membered, that the object of our requefts muff not 
be limited to reftraining grace. When our Lord 
Y 3 teaches 



25$ ON THE CONDITION AND DITTY 

teaches us to fay, * Lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil," he enjoins us to pray- 
both for re draining and fanctifying grace. We are 
not delivered from evil, or from the evil one, al- 
though we are kept from particular fins, if we are 
not fet free from the law of fin and death. And al- 
though we are fet free from the law of fin and 
death, we may be fufifered, like Pete^ to fall by 
temptation into great evils. 

The prayers and endeavours of unregenerate per- 
fons againft fin, mufl be very defective in their prin- 
ciple. We ought not only to refrain from fin, bnt 
to abhor it ; not only to difcontinue the practices by 
which we have provoked God, but to crucify the 
fieuS, with its affections and lulls ; to pray for deli- 
verance from it, not merely becaufe it is deftruc- 
tive to ourfelves, but becaufe it is difiionourable to 
God. But if he is not a good man who does not 
abhor evil, what mufl he be who commits unclean- 
r.efs with greedinefs ? What extreme madnefs has 
tak*en pofieflion of the hearts of thofe whom neither 
love to God, nor love to themfelves, can 'reftrain 
from the wilful gratification of their lufts ? 

6. Beware of finking into defpondency when fin 
lias prevailed againft you. 

OfFenfive as the workings of fin muft be to God, 
when he is calling aloud to you by the voice of your 
confeiences to turn away from all iniquity, yet who 
could be faved if they were unpardonable ? Paul him- 
felf confefTes, that when he was under the fevere 
difcipline of the law, " fin wrought in him all man- 
ner of concupifcence." It is the gofpel alone that 
can reconcile our hearts to the law ; and whilft we 

are 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 259 

are uninfluenced by that love which 15 the fruit of 
faith, fin will find " occafion by the commandment 
to deceive us and flay us." 

But wilful relapfes into thofe fins of which you 
have feen the danger, will molt of all difquiet your 
confciences, whether they are fpiritual or external 
a£ts of fin. If you have not only felt vain or vile 
thoughts fpring up in your minds, but indulged 
them in finful imaginations to the gratification of 
your corrupt inclinations ; if you have not only 
admitted, but harboured with delight thofe thoughts 
which evidently fpring from an inordinate attach- 
ment to the lufts of the flefti, of the eyes, or the 
pnae of life, you mufl be confcious that you have 
greatly offended that divine Spirit, who made you 
fenhble of the great wrong you have done to your 
own fouls by fuch fenfual, worldly, or devilifh ima- 
ginations in former parts of your life. You can- 
not be too deeply humbled lor fuch impiety ; but 
you muit not* think that your condition is defperate. 
Wounds, though dangerous, and requiring the fpee- 
dy application of a remedy, may be healed. God 
is rich in mercy. He delights to glorify his mercy. 
It was the glory of our Redeemer that he died for 
many who were his murderers ; for many who long 
rejected and defpifed him, and perfecuted him in his 
perfon or members. It is no lefs the glory of the 
Spirit to purify many hearts that long refufed to be 
made clean. " How long, ye fimple ones, will ye 
love fimnlicity !" fays God. " Behold I pour out 
my Spirit unto you, I make known my words unto 
you." 

It is a very grievous aggravation of fin to fall into 

it 



200 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

it after men have been awakened and convinced* 
It is a greater aggravation of fin to be overcome by 
it after men have been made partakers of fan&ify- 
ing grace. But who could be faved, if there were 
not forgivenefs with God for fuch fins ? " Who is a 
god like unto our God, that pardoneth iniquity, and 
pafleth by the tranfgreflion of the remnant of his 
heritage ?. He retaineth not his anger for ever, be- 
caufe he delighteth in mercy." — " Where the of- 
fence hath abounded, grace hath much more abound- 
ed." 

One fin cannot atone for another. You have fin- 
ned by refitting the Holy Ghoft, and preferring the- 
fuggeflions of abominable lulls to the holy motions 
of the Spirit. Be afflicted, and mourn, and humble 
yourfelves to the dull ; but limit not the Holy One 
of Ifrael, by faying, 4 Thus far mall his mercy and 1 
power reach, but no further.' Can you. number 
the multitude of his mercies ? When you bewail; 
thofe of your fins that have done yofi moll harm^ 
forget not to bewail an evil heart of unbelief. 

Perhaps, you may allege that you do not fet 
bounds to the mercy of God. You know that the 
greatefl fins have been forgiven by him ; but you< 
find your own hearts fo treacherous, that you de- 
fpair of ever finding them any better than they have 
hitherto been. Your corruptions have fo often 
gained the vi&ory over your conviclions, your refo- 
lntions, your vows, that no hope of amendment is 
left. What is the meaning of fuch defpohdent 
thoughts ? They mean either that, there is no hope 
for you but in yourfelves, or that the God who mull 
be your helper is not able to deliver you. If you 

have 



OE UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2§1 

have hitherto depended on your own illuminations, 
your vows, your retaliations, it is no wonder that 
you have been difappointed. Perhaps God has left 
you £o yourfelves, that you might learn no more to 
truft in yourfelves, but in God, who has all hearts 
in his hands, and who can make the new creature as 
cafily as he made your bodies and fouls. But if all 
your hope is in God, do you fuppofe that his arm is 
now fhortened that it cannot fave, after performing 
fo many wonders of grace in former days ? 

The flory of Auguftine's converfion is worthy of 
remembrance. There was a great ftruggle in his 
heart between his confcience and his finful incli- 
nations, before he knew the grace of God in truth. 
He often prayed for converfion, with a fecret wifh 
that his prayer might not be prefently heard. Life 
appeared to him quite infipid without the gratifies* 
tion of his prevailing lufts. But when he was re- 
newed in the temper of his mind, by the bleffing of 
God accompanying the reading of Paul's exhorta- 
tion to the Romans, chapter xiii. IX, — 14. he de- 
tefted his former lufts more than he had ever de- 
lighted in them, and found infinitely purer pleafure 
in the Scripture than he had ever tailed in the en- 
joyments of fenfe. 

7. Beware of thofe miftakes, which may embar- 
rafs your exereife when you endeavour to believe on 
•Ghriit. You know how natural it is for man to 
err about the things of God. 

Beware of miftaking the nature of faith. James 
cautions you againil placing it in a dead affent to the 
truth, James ii. 14,- -25. It muft correfpond to 
the teftimony of God in his word concerning Chrift. 

God 



262 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

God teftifies, that he hath fent his Son to be the Sa- 
viour of the world. He offers Chrift freely to you 
in the gofpel, and calls upon you not only to believe 
that falvation is to be found in him, but to trull in 
him for falvation to yourfelves. Your faith is re- 
quired to thofe declarations and promifes of grace, 
which give you fufficient warrant to depend upon 
his blood and grace for your falvation from fin and 
mifery. The rebellious Ifraelites in the defer t pe» 
rimed, becaufe they did not believe God and trull in 
his promifed falvation. We are warned againfl fall- 
ing after the fame example of unbelief. A promife 
is left to us of entering into God's reft. To us the 
glad tidings of a promifed reft is brought, as well as 
to them, and the glad news will not profit us unlefs 
they are mingled with faith, with a faith of the pro- 
mife of reft. If we are Abraham's children, we 
mud walk in the fteps of his faith, and we are ex- 
prefsly told that he and the other holy patriarchs 
faw the promifes afar off, and were perfuaded of 
them, and embraced them, Heb.ii. 

We muft not only believe that the flefii of Chrift 
is meat indeed, and that his blood is drink indeed^ 
but we muft eat his flefti and drink his blood. By 
faith we receive the reconciliation, and reft upon 
Chrift as the foundation of all our hope. Thus did 
all the ancient believers find joy and peace in belie- 
ving, for their faith was the fubftance of things ho- 
ped for, as well as the evidence of things not feen. 
If God makes a grant of Chrift and falvation to us 
in his word, fliall we not poffefs that which the 
Lord our God gives us to poffefs ? 

It is a great miftake, as we have already obser- 
ved, 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 263 

ved, to think that we mud feek a right to believe 
on Chrift any where elfe but in the word of God, 
in which we are every where taught that our falva- 
tion muft be the gift of God, the gift of his free 
and abundant grace. We muft not, therefore, ima- 
gine, that we are firft to forfake our fins, and then 
come with confidence to Chrift, as if he were the 
Saviour, not of finners, or not of great finners, but 
of the righteous, or of thofe finners who have firft 
done fomething to deliver themielves from fin. Our 
whole falvation from the power, as well as from the 
guilt of fin, muft be in Chrift. Doubtlefs it is our 
duty at all times to ceafe to do evil, and it is ex- 
tremely dangerous, after we are awakened to a fenfe 
of the evil of our former fins, to perfift in them. 
Although we have not fan&ifying grace given us, 
we ought to improve reftraining grace, left we pro- 
voke the Spirit of God to defift from his ftrivings 
with us. But we muft not imagine that we can re- 
commend ourfelves to Chrift by our exertions, un- 
der the mere influence of an awakened confcience, 
to oppofe particular fins, whilft the great fin of un- 
belief is voluntarily cheriflied. " To-day, if ye 
will hear the voice of Chrift, harden not your 
hearts," either by perfifting in your former habits 
of fin, or by giving indulgence to an evil heart of 
unbeiief. You juftify this leading provocation, if 
you think that you ought not at prefent to believe on 
the name of the Son of God. If you think that it 
is rot your duty to believe on Chrift till you have 
laboured with fuccefs to rectify your bad habits, 
you think that unbelief is not at prefent your fin, 
but an acceptable inftance of modefty in declining 

to 



264 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

to receive the richeft blefling which God can give, 
till you are better qualified to receive it. But is it 
not daring prefumption, and not an expreflion of hu- 
mility, to put away from you that great falvation 
which God holds forth in the gofpel for your accep- 
tance ? 

This dangerous error is clofely connected with 
another, that ought no lefs to be guarded againft, of 
imagining that the falvation of Chrift is only a fal- 
vation from that mifery which is the juft confe- 
quence of fin, and not a complete falvation from 
every evil, and from fin as the greateft of evils. 
Why is our Redeemer called Jems ? Becaufe he 
faves his people from their fins. Will you then 
pretend to begin the great work, by faving your- 
felves from forrte of your fins, and then coming to 
Jefus to fave you from the reft ? Do you not know 
that Jefus is made of God unto you fanclification, 
and that fin muft reign in you, whatever efforts you 
make to fubdue it, till you are made partakers of 
his death ? " He bare our fins in his own body on 
the tree, that we, being dead unto fin, might live 
unto righteoufnefs, by whofe flripes we are healed." 
Till we are healed by his ftripes, " from the fole of 
the foot, even to the head, there is no foundnefs in 
us, but wounds, and bruifes, and putrifying fores 
that have not been clofed, neither bound up, neither 
mollified with ointment." 

It would be tedious to reckon up' all thofe errors 
on this important fubjecl, into which men may be 
led by the workings of their own minds, when they 
are preffed with a fenfe of its neceflity on the one 

hand. 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 265 

liand, and of the difficulty of believing on the 
other. 

It. -might be ufeful for preventing or removing 
many of them to confider the reafon why God has 
given faith that office which it holds in our falva- 
tion. " It is of faith, that it might be by grace." 
To be faved, therefore, through faith, and to be fa- 
ved by grace, are in effed the fame thing. Whatever 
notions are entertained concerning faith, that dero- 
gate from the richnefs and freenefs of the grace of 
God in our falvation, muft be miflakes of a danger- 
ous nature. And what can be more derogatory to 
uie glory of the grace of God, than to fuppofe that 
we mull forfake fin, in order to poffefs a better title 
to believe on Ghriftj or that any of our attainments, 
in an unconverted ftate, can give us a better title 
than other men have to partake of the virtue of his 
blood ? The fovereignty of divine grace is one of 
its glories. All that feek falvation muft acknow- 
ledge that God has a right to be gracious to whom 
he will be gracious, and to have compaffion on 
whom he will have compaffion. Applying this im- 
portant truth to themfelves, they muft cheerfully ac- 
knowledge that there is nothing in themfelves after 
their utmoft attainments, and that there never can 
be any thing in themfelves that would make it un- 
righteous with God, or inconfiftent wkh his equity 
and goodnefs, to inflict upon them all that vengeance 
which his law threatens to finners. Surely our ap- 
prehenfions of the evil of fin muft be very flight, if 
we imagine that all our tears, all our endeavours to 
reform our conduct, all the exertions of our activi- 
ty in religious duties, can lay an obligation of any 



26Q ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

kind upon the Moil High to exempt us from the 
punifhment which is due to the leaft of them. 

Beware left the pride of your hearts tempt you 
to prefume that God mult either fave you, or bring 
fome caufe of reflection upon his own goodnefs. 
What is there in any part of your conduct that can 
cxcufe fuch vain thoughts ? You have perhaps heard 
the word of God with attention and earneftnefs. 
You have, felt much forrow for your fins. You 
have been enabled to pour forth your hearts in im- 
portunate requefls for pardon. You have continued 
Jong waiting at the gates of wifdom. Will you 
then be hardly dealt with after all, if God does not 
Ihew you that mercy which you fo much need, and 
fo earneftly implore ? Let me afk you one plain 
queftion. With all your other exercifes of religion, 
have you joined confefiion of your fins ? With what 
temper of mind then did you confefs them ? Under 
a heart- felt conviction that any one of them, al- 
though you had been chargeable with one only, 
muft expofe you to the everlafting wrath of God, 
unlefs free and unmerited mercy interpofe ? If you 
have not thus confeffe'd your fins, you have not feen 
how evil and bitter a thing fin is. If you have con- 
fefTed them with this temper of mind, how do you 
imagine that the goodnefs of God is liable to im- 
peachment, if you are not pardoned ? When we 
truly believe in Chrilt, we look for his mercy unto 
eternal life ; but his mercy is fovereignly free, and 
if our hope is founded in any degree upon any thing 
in ourfelves, we, in fo far, look for eternal life from 
our own qualifications and fitnefs to partake of it. 
Confidence in that mercy and grace which is deferi- 

bed 



OF UNCONVERTED' SINNERS. 267 

bed in the Scripture, excludes all confidence in any 
thing elfe. If it be the defign of God in our fal- 
vation by faith to exclude boafting, that faith which 
is founded upon fomething which gives room for 
boafting, is not the faith which pleafes God. Thje 
faith of the true feed of Abraham is a faith which 
gives all glory to God, and efpecially to the exceed- 
ing riches of that grace, which would ceafe to be 
jprace, if it did not exclude works from all partner- 
ship with itfelf. 

The confideration of God's view in faving us by 
faith, may likewife rectify the uncomfortable error 
of fuppofing that the greatnefs or fpecial aggrava- 
tion of our fins debars from that falvation which is 
offered in the gofpel. Had I not finned againft light 
and conviction, will one fay, I would not be afraid 
of my welcome reception by him who invites the 
labouring and heavy laden finner to come to him for 
reft; but I am fuch a finful man, that Peter's prayer, 
however unfit for his own mouth, becomes my un- 
clean lips, " Lord, depart from me." But is not 
David's prayer a better example for your imitation? 
m For thy name's fake, O Lord, pardon mine iniqui- 
ty, for it is great." If it be God's defign in par- 
doning fin to glorify his own great name, u The 
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-fuf- 
fering and abundant in goodnefs and truth, pardoning 
iniquity, tranfgrefiion and fin," why ftiould the great- 
nefs of your fins preclude your accefs to Chrift * 
Should it not rather urge your flight to that refuge 
in which alone you can find protection from that 
wrath which you have juftly incurred. 

Contemplate the glory of the divine holinefs, and 

you 



26$ ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

you will fee that your faith mull depend purely 
upon the grace and faithfulnefs of God in Chrift 
Jefus ; and that all attempts to find, or to work out 
in yourfelves any qualifications to embolden, you to 
truft in God, are vain and prefumptuous. Contem- 
plate the riches, the freenefs, the Sovereignty of di- 
vine grace, and you will fee that after all that you 
have done, there is hope for you in the Saviour of 
the chief of finners, 1 Tim. i. 15, 16, 17. 

There is another error about faith which fre- 
quently embarraffes the minds of convinced finners. 
They do not diftinguifh between a weak and a ftrong 
faith. They do not fee how they can ever enter- 
tain fuch a perfuafion of the certainty of their fal- 
vation as they find exemplified in the faints fpokeiv 
©f in the Bible, and therefore they defpair of ob- 
taining the like precious faith with thofe who now 
inherit the promifes. But will you refufe to ftretch 
out your withered arm at Chris's call, becaufe you 
cannot exert it with all the force of a Samfon ? It 
is God that muft work faith in you, and that faith/ 
which is the work of his divine grace will not be 
defpifed by him, although unbelief is not expelled 
by it from your hearts. He was highly pleafed 
with the ftrong faith of Abraham; but he was- 
pleafed likewife with the weak faith of the difciples 
in the time that their Lord was with them on the 
earth. He often reproved them for their unbelief, 
but he commended their faith and its fruits. " Ye 
are they which have continued with me in my temp- 
tation." He greatly commended the faith of the cen- 
turion ; but he accepted the faith likewife of that 
poor man who cried out, " Lord, I believe ; help 

mine 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 269 

mine unbelief." — " The bruifed reed he will not 
break, and the fmoking flax he will not quench ; he 
will bring forth judgment unto vi&ory." 

8. Let no confederation induce you to neglect any 
of thofe means of grace which God hath appointed 
for bringing men into a ftate of falvation, and en- 
deavour to improve them as means of faith. 

Some have cavilled at the advice given to un-^ 
converted perfons, that they mould endeavour to be- 
lieve on Chriftv ' The Scripture,' they will fay r 
4 requires from us, not endeavours to believe,, but 
faith itfelf r and faith is not wrought in us by our 
own endeavours, but by the power of the Spirit of 
God, whofe gracious operation cannot be procured 
by the endeavours of men.' We do not deny any of 
fchefe truths ; but aver, that r when the Scripture 
calls us to believe,,it requires from us endeavours to 
believe. Ought we not to endeavour to do all that 
God requires us to do ? Was it not the conn ant en- 
deavour of David to do what God commanded ? '* I 
have inclined my heart," he fays^ '* always to per- 
form thy ftatutes unto the end. I will lift up my 
hands unto thy commandments which I have loved." 
What does he mean when he often tells us that he 
kept God's ftatutes, but that it was his conftant en- 
deavour, and in fome meafure his attainment, to 
keep them ? for we know that he did not keep then* 
in perfection. He endeavoured, amongft other du- 
ties, to perform this duty of trufting in the mercy 
of God, the fame in effect with the duty of belie- 
ving in Chrift, and on God through him. Other 
writers of pfalms fet us the fame example of earned _ 
endeavours to believe on God amidft difficulties 
Z 3 and 



£7<y OUT THE CONDITION AND DUTJT 

and oppofitions from the workings of an evil heart 
of unbelief, Pfal. xlii. 5, 6V lxxvii. &lxxxviii. 

'* Let us labour to enter into that reft, left any man 
fall after the fame example of unbelief*" It is well 
known, that the word which we render labour, in 
that place fignifies very ordinarily, to endeavour, and 
is frequently rendered' by our tranflators either by 
that word, or by words of fimilar import — to be di- 
ligent, to do one's diligence, to Jlitdy, Eph. iv. 3. 
lThef.ii.17. 2Tim.iv.7-. Titus iii. 12, 13. lTim. 
ii. 15. I do not complain of the tranfiation in the 
text, for the word labour is of the fame import with 
£ndeai)our ;. and it is very evident that T .if we muft 
labour or endeavour to enter into God's reft, we 
muft feek to enter into it by faith. 

Is it to believers only, and not to unbelievers, that 
the apoftle directs- his exhortation? Unbelievers cer- 
tainly are the perfons tftoit likely to come ihort of 
God's reft, through the fame example of unbelief ' r 
for all who truly believe unto falvation, are kept to 
it, through faith, by the power of God. 

We are called to feek righteoufnefs by faith, ta 
ftrive to enter in at the ftrait gate, to labour for the 
meat which endureth unto everlafting life. " If 
thou canft believe," faid Jefus to a certain man, " all 
things are poffible to him that believeth." Do not 
thefe well known expreffions require us to ufe eve- 
ry endeavour to believe on Chrift ? It is certain we 
do not fulfil our duty by mere endeavours. We 
muft actually believe in Chrift, and we muft believe 
in him under the influence of the almighty power 
of divine grace ; but that grace is often communi- 
cated to make mens endeavours fuccefsful. Al- 
though: 



CF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2~fl 

though we cannot entitle ourfelves to the gracious 
operations of the Spirit by our endeavours, the Spi- 
rit can carry on his own gracious work, by awaken- 
ing us to a fenfe of eternal things, by convincing us 
of fin, by drawing our hearts towards Chrift, in 
whom alone we can find pardon and reft. w Strive 
to enter in at the ftrait gate," This is a direction 
given us by the Saviour himfelf. Directions oppo- 
fite to this muft come from the evil one. 

The hearing of the word is one of thofe blefled 
ordinances which God hath appointed for the con- 
verfion of finners. The Lord's fupper is a gracious 
inftitution, in which we partake of Chrift r s body and 
blood to our fpiritual nourifhment and growth in 
grace. Yet believers themfelves often tremble in 
the view of this ordinance, left they fhould be left 
to eat and drink judgment to themfelves, by coming 
unworthily to the table of the Lord. The preach- 
ing of the w r ord is known to be intended for the 
benefit of the unworthy. Without knowing our 
ftate to be good, we may attend upon it,, and are 
welcomed to that provifion which is prepared of 
God's goodnefs for the poor. Yet let not men ima- 
gine that there is little or no danger in hearing 
God's word without duly improving it. God mull 
be fan&ified in all them that come nigh unto him. 
We mult keep our feet when we go unto the houfe 
of God, and hear what God the Lord will fpeak, 
that we may believe what we hear, and do what he 
requires, for he will not be mocked by his creatures. 
The word preached did not profit many of the If- 
raelites that left Egypt, becaufe it was not mixed 
with faith in them that heard it. Obferve in what 

manner 



2*72 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

manner Paul preached to the Jews at Antioch in VT-* 
fidia. He explains the doclrine of faith, and calls 
upon them to believe in Jefus to the remiffion of 
their fins ; but warns them, that they muft perifh 
with a double deftru&ion if they defpifed the word 
of grace. u Be it known unto you, men and bre- 
thren, that through this man is preached unto you- 
the forgivenefs of fins. But beware left that come 
upon you which is written in the prophets, Behold,, 
ye defpifers, and wonderland perim ; for I work a 
work in your days which ye will not believe r 
though a man told it unto you," A&s xiii. 

Do you hear minifters explaining and enforcing 
the duties of the law?, hear with- reverence and-., 
faith. Behold your face in that glafs which is fet 
before you. See what need. you have to be walhedi 
in that fountain which is opened to youfor fin and 
uncleannefs. Do you hear them fpeaking of. the 
excellent glories of the holinefs and majefty of God? 
fee what need you have of a better righteoufnefs-. 
than your own, that you may come without terror 
into the prefence of him before whom the heavens 
are not pure. Do they fpeak. of the perfon, the 
offices, the blood, the grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift ?, 
what precious encouragements to faith arefet before 
you ! Are you not rilled with indignation at thai 
evil heart of unbelief which keeps you in your pe- 
rifhing ftate, at a diftance from one fo able, fo will- 
ing to fave you ? Will you fufTer fuch precious 
truths to flip away from your minds, without look- 
ing to Jefus for falvation, without «earneft endea- 
vours to commit your fouls to him who is in every 
refpe& fo well fitted to be the object of your confi* 

dence ? 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 2T3 

ctence ? When you hear the motives and obligation 
to faith fet before your eyes, endeavour to under- 
stand and feel the conftraining power of thefe mo- 
tives, that you may not be found enemies to God 
and to yourf elves. 

The reading of the word of God is another means 
of falvation ; and although the preaching of the 
word is neceifary, and is ordinarily bleffed by God 
for converfion, yet the entrance of the word read, as 
well as preached, has often given light and under- 
Handing to the fimple. The Bereans are commend- 
ed for joining the reading to the hearing of the 
word. They received the word preached^ with all 
feadinefs of mind, and fearched the Scriptures daily 
whether thefe things were fo. Therefore many of 
them believed, A£b xvii. 12. Wherefore were 
eyes given us? Wherefore were we taught.to read? 
Will not our eyes, and the privileges, of onr educa- 
tion, teftify againft us before the tribunal of our 
Judge, if our Bible is neglected ? But if we read, 
and do not obey and believe, the Bible itfelf will 
be a fwift witnefs againft us. 

Religious converfe is a means of falvation. Be 
fwift to hear. The words of the wife are pleafant 
and healing words. " The man who walketh with 
wife men {hall be wife, for the fruit of the righte- 
ous is like the fruit of the tree of life. What know- 
eft thou, O hufhand, whether thou malt fave thy 
wife ? What knoweft thou, O wife, whether thou 
{halt fave thy hufband ?" Whilft we labour that we 
may not fall after the fame example of unbelief 
fpoken of Heb. iii. 4. we, are required to exhort one 

another 






274 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

another daily, left any of us fliould be hardened 
through the deceitfulnefs of fin^ 

Pray for faith, and for that falvation which you 
are called to receive by faith, and be not moved by 
thofe vain reafonings which fome zealots for their 
own peculiarities fet in direct oppofition to plain di- 
rections of the Spirit of God. " O Ifrael," fays 
God to a very wicked generation of men, ** O If- 
rael, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou haft 
fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, 
and turn unto the Lord ; fay unto him, Take away 
all iniquity, and receive us gracioufly, fo will we 
render the calves of our tips." They are indeed 
required, in taking thefe words^ to turn unto the 
Lord by faith in Chrift, and repentance towards 
God ; but they are not required to make fure work 
that they have received grace to believe, and repent 
before they take thefe words into their mouths. If 
God enable you to ufe fuch words, with thofe fenti- 
ments and afTe&ions which they are intended to ex- 
cite, the great work is accomplimed. The prayer 
of faith is prefented to God, and is gracioufly 
heard* 

But this is your fear, perhaps, that although you 
have taken thefe words into your mouths, and en- 
deavoured to make them the expreftions of your fin- 
cere defires, ftill you apprehend that the inward ex- 
ercife of your minds is not fuitable to them. This 
may be a miftake originating in your own anxiety. 
The difciples, when they faw Jefus with their eyes 
after his refurre&ion, would not believe their own 
fenfes, but thought they had feen a fpirit j and when 
he had ftiewed them his hands and feet, they ftill 

believed 






ved 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 275 

believed not for joy, and wondered, till by eating in 
their prefence he banifhed every remaining doubt. 
They may, at their firft converfion, have thought it 
impoffible that what was done in them and by them 
mould be a reality. They called unto God, and he 
anfwered them, and yet they would not believe that 
he had hearkened unto their voice. 

Yet it may be true that you have often attempt- 
ed in vain to prefent this prayer, or other prayers of 
the like import, to God, and it is certainly much to 
be delired to know whether you have prayed in 
faith or not. But there is another thing no lefs ne- 
ceflary to perfuade yourfelves of, that your obliga- 
tion to believe on Chrift is not fufpended on the re- 
solution of this queftion. Whether your faith hi- 
therto is only fuch a faith as many are pofleftfed of 
that afterwards fall away, or the faith of God's 
elect, it is unquestionable that it is ftill your duty 
to believe. If you £u«d been ten thoufand times 
difappointed in your expectations, that the Spirit 
would work powerfully in you by his word, when 
you were endeavouring to make it the ground of 
your hope, ftill endeavour to believe and pray, and 
fay not, like the wicked king of Ifrael, " This evil 
is of the Lord, why mould I wait for the Lord any 
longer ?" Do you not remember our Lord's parable 
for your encouragement to oray without ceafing, 
Luke xviii. ? Even the unjuft judge, who neither 
feared God nor regarded man, did juftice to the wi- 
dow that wearied him with her importunities. He 
did not value the woman ; he was angry with her 
becaufe (he would give him no reft; and yet her im- 
portunities had the defired effect. And may not 

God 



276 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

God regard his own, ordinance of importimate 
prayer, although prayer, as it comes from your vile 
mouths, cannot be pleafing to him ? Why does he 
prefcribe forms of prayer for unconverted perfons ? 
Certainly for a good and merciful reafon. When 
Ephraimcame before him with thofe petitions which 
God prefcribed for him, Jer. xxxi. 18. he is heard, 
he is inftru&ed, he is powerfully difpofed to repent. 
He hears from God the language of more than pa- 
rental tendernefs. " Is Ephraim my dear fon ? is 
he a pleafant child? for fince I fpake againft him, 
I do earneflly remember him ftill ; therefore my 
bowels are troubled for him : I will furely have 
mercy upon him, faith the Lord/' 

*' Ye that turn judgment into wormwood and 
leave off righteoufnefs in the earth," fays God by 
Amos, " feek him that maketh the feven ftars and 
Orion, that turneth the fhadow of death into the 
morning." The Ruler of tjie ftars, he who turns 
the ftiadow of death into the morning, is the object 
to whom you are to addrefs your prayers* He can 
give you fongs in the night. The God who com- 
mands the light to mine out of darknefs, can foon 
turn the ihadow of death in your fouls into the 
morning. " Wherefore he faith, Awake thou 
that fleepeft, and rife from the dead, and Chrift Ihall 
give thee light." 

Meditate upon thofe truths by which God is 
pleafed to work powerfully on the hearts of men. 
Perhaps, when you hear the word of God, and find 
your affections moved by it, you would think your- 
felves happy if you had leifure and opportunity to 
hear thefe truths more frequently founded in your 






OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 277 

ears, by which impreflions have been made of a fa- 
lutary tendency. But why do you not preach thefe 
truths over and over to your own fouls ? David lo- 
ved the habitation of God's houfe, and the place 
where his honour dwelt ; but when David was at a 
diftance from the fan£tuary, he could preach to him- 
felf. " Why art thou caft down, O my foul, and 
why art thou difquieted within me ? Hope in 
God." 

When you go away from church, take the fermon 
with you, unlefs you wifh to gratify thofe evil fpi- 
rits who defire to ileal away the good feed of the 
word from thofe hearts in which it is fown. When 
Paul fpeaks of the gofpel which he had preached to 
the Corinthians, he fays to them that they were "fa- 
ved by it if they kept in memory what he preached 
to them, unlefs they had believed in vain." The 
words might have, perhaps, been better rendered, 
* By which ye are faved, if ye retain, or keep hold 
of what I preached unto you.' He by no means 
intends to teach us, that our faith, or our falvation, 
depends on the ftrength of our memories ; but to 
hold fad what we learn by the reading and hearing 
of the word of God, and to make it the fubjecl of 
our meditation by day and by night. The Spirit, 
who is like the wind that bloweth when and where 
it lifts, may give that efficacy to the words of his 
grace, when we are muiing upon them, which we 
did not feel when we were hearing them from the 
pulpit. 

* Of his own will," fays the apoftle James, " be- 
gat he us with the word of truth, that we mould be 
a kind of firft fruits of his creatures. Wherefore, 
A a my 



£78 0>* THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

my beloved brethren, let every man be fwift to 
hear." Not only thofe who are already begotten 
again by the word of truth, but thofe who are not 
yet begotten, mould be fwift to hear that word 
which has been to fo many the word of eternal life. 
Why elfe mould the apoftle fubjoin that admonition 
concerning the right hearing of the word ? " Be ye 
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving 
your own felves. - For if any be a hearer of the word, 
and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his 
natural face in a glafs. For he beholdeth himfelf, 
and goeth his way, and ftraightway forgetteth what 
manner of man he was. But whofo looketh into 
the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, 
he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the 
w r ork, this man fhall be bleffed in his deed." 

When men go away, and ftraightway forget what 
was faid, what benefit can they expect from it ? 
None, but much damage for turning a deaf ear to 
the voice of God, and refuting to give his word a 
place in their hearts. When God himfelf fpeaks 
to us in his law and gofpel, we ought to hear him 
not once only, but again and again. " Set your 
hearts," fays Mofes, w to all the words that I tefti- 
fy among you this day. For it is no vain thing for 
you, for it is your life," Deut. xxxii. 

Beware of fuffering what you read and hear to 
pafs unimproved by ferious reflections, efpecially 
thofe doctrines or exhortations that are peculiarly 
jitted to make good impreffions on your hearts, or 
are peculiarly fuited to your prefent circamftd ces. 
But you ought not to confine your ^editati ns to 
thofe truths that you have recently heard or reaci. 

There 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS* 279 

There are truths which ought never , to be abfent 
from your hearts. Think often of your mifery and: 
finfulnefs ; of your own fins, and of their aggrava- 
tions ; of the awful denunciations of the word of 
God againfl finners, and againft fuch finners as you 
know yourfelves to be. It is painful, but requifite 
for you to know and confider your ways, that you 
may know your need of Chrift and of h's falvation, 
and how absolutely neeeffary it is for ; you to come 
to him as felf-ruined finners that muft be damned 
for ever, or owe their falvation to fovereign grace. 

Let your thoughts dwell upon Chrift the Saviour,- 
upon all that he did and faffered for our falvation, 
upon the riches of the glory of the grace of God" 
manifefted in him, upon the all-fufficiency of the 
God of grace as a portion for men, upon the grace 
and power of the Spirit of God, upon the intereft 
that finners of the human race have in Chrift as a 
Saviour appointed for them by God, upon the un- 
fpeakable bleffednefs of all thofe who partake of 
the falvation of Chrift, upon thofe gracious invita- 
tions and promifes by which' we are encouraged to 
truft in Chrift. Thefe are truths by which faith al- 
ready has been wrought in the hearts of millions of 
finners, upon fome of them#whilft they were hear- 
ing the gofpel, upon others whilft they were in their 
own houfes revolving what they had formerly heard 
or read. You cannot command the bleffing of God 
to accompany your thoughts, but neither can you 
command the bleffing upon your daily bread ; yet 
you eat it in the hope that God will make it nou- 
rifhment to your bodily frame. By the gracious' 
truths of God do men live the fpiritual life, foe 

upon 



3S0 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

upon them God commands the bleffing, even life for 
evermore. 

The difciples of our Lord could not multiply the 
loaves which they diftributed to the,people, but they 
could give them to the multitude at the command 
of Chrift, and Chrifl multiplied them in the diftri- 
Butioh. Thus let us think upon the foul- nouri fhing 
truths which God fets before us, and he can make 
them fpirit and life to our fouls. He promifes to 
take away the flony heart, and to give the heart of 
flefh. For this, and other bleffings, he will be in- 
quired of by the houfe of Ifrael. 

You may perhaps complain, that you find your- 
felves at a great lofs to order your thoughts, and 
that your heart will never be like the pen of a 
ready writer to meditate upon the truths of the gof- 
pel, till you are bleiFed with illumination in the 
knowledge of Chrift by his own Spirit. For this 
you are to wait more than they that wait for the 
morning. But as the word of God is the means of 
illumination, you ought to familiarize it to your 
thoughts, whatever difficulty you may experience in 
the attempt. 

You probably can repeat the Shorter Catechifm* 
This little book will fupply a rich ftore of ufeful 
thoughts to you. It will guide your meditations on 
the perfon and offices of Chrift, the great things 
which he has done and will do for you, the precious 
bleffings of the gofpel, the nature of faith and re- 
pentance, and other important fubjecls in religion. 

It is not found difficult to young perfons to com- 
mit this whole book to memory, and why fhouid it 
be thought more difficult to commit to memory a 

confiderable 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 261- 

eohfiderable portion of the exprefs words of the 
Holy Ghoft* This would greatly afiift you in the 
duty of meditation. Some think it would be very 
troublefome to learn fo exactly a few paragraphs of 
the Bible ; but I am fpeaking at prefent to perfons 
who have a deep concern about their falvation. You, 

1 am perfuaded, will not grudge a little trouble that 
will be ufeful to your fouls. Thofe who are ready- 
to perifh for hunger, will be glad of a very trouble- 
fome employment, that they may procure them- 
felves bread to fatisfy their hunger. I take it for 
granted that you take it/for a matter of greater im- 
portance to- labour for the meat- that endureth to x 
everlafting, life, -than for that which'perifheth* • 

You have probably been frequently reading fuch 
paffages as give you the richeft encouragement to 
look for good at the hand of the Lordi- The calls 
and promifes contained in the following panages, 
well deferve to be kept and frequently revolved in 
your minds. Ifav xliii. 25. xliv. 22. xlv. 22,— 25» 
Jer. xxxi. 31<,—~ 34. Ezek. xi. l8,i~20. ; xxxvi. 25, 
— 32.37. Mfcah vii. 18, — 20. Hofea vi. 1^-3. 
xiv. throughout. John iii, 16, — 21. • vi. 27, 28. 
A£s xiii. 38^ 39/ Rom. iii. 23, — 31. iv. 22,-25. 

2 Cor* v. 13, — 21; I mention only a* few ; your 
own obfervation will find out many moret 

Self-inquiry is another duty required by God. 
u Examine yourf elves whether you be in the faith, n 
and if you are not in the faith, what is the reafon 
that you do not believe in Chrift ? ■ 

Perfons too often think they are irt the faith, when 
unbelief ftill reigns in them ; and fome true belie- 
vers, through the weaknefs of their faith or know- 
Aa3 ledge* 



2S2 oh the Condition and butt 

ledge, cannot be perfuaded that the good work is 
wrought in them. They think that they could not 
be fo much in the dark about their own condition 
as they are, if their faith were a reality. They find 
fin ft ill working in their- minds, efpecially when 
they would do good. They are ftill difquieted with 
doubts and fears, and therefore it appears to them 
that no good thing dwells in them. But there may 
be fome good thing toward the Lord God of Ifrael 
where there is much corruption. I>o you really 
renounce all your own righteoufnefs, feeking above 
all things to be found in Chrift ? I>o you gladly re- 
ceive the word of falvation as the only ground of 
your hope towards God ? Are you fhut up to the 
faith of Chrift by a deep fenfe of your loft condi- 
tion ? Do you feek relief only in Chrift from the 
guilt of fin, refolving that arnidft all difcourage- 
rnents you will hope in him ? iSt It is a good thing 
that a man fhould both hope and quietly wait for 
the falvation of the Lord ; for the Lord is ever good 
unto him that waiteth for him, unto the foul that 
f&keth^Km.^- 

But if ye do not yet believe on Chrift, what is 
the reafon why you will not come to him that you 
may have life ? Alk this queftion at your own 
hearts, and if they can render you a good reafon,. 
hold fail your unbelief, and refufe to let it go. If 
the reafon is not good, you muft condemn your- 
felves ; and if you condemn yourfelves, why do you 
per lift in a conduct di {honouring to God, and ruin* 
ous to yourfelves ? 

The reafon, you fay, is not that you have not fuf- 
ficient warrant from God to rely on Chrift, but thafe 

you 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 283 

you cannot make ufe of this warrant ; you cannot 
come to Chriit except the Father draw you ; and, 
as he has not hitherto drawn you, it is impoflible 
for you to come. 

But in what manner do you expect God will 
draw you to Chrift ? Do you imagine that he will 
give you a vifible fign of his drawing power? or ? 
that he will fpeak to you in the fame manner as he 
fpake to the ancient prophets r giving you fome new 
revelation of his will, that you may be enabled to 
teftify a due regard to that old revelation which you 
had from the beginning ? 

When God draws men to Chrift, he convinces 
them of their fin and mifery, enlightens them in the 
knowledge of Chrift, and perfuades and enables 
them to embrace Jefus Chrift freely offered to them 
in the gofpel. Are you then convinced that you 
juftly deferve the condemnation of hell for your 
fins ? Do yon fee that Chrift is an all fuificient and 
moil gracious Saviour ? Are you effectually difpo- 
fed to approve of his falvation, as a falvation from 
fin as well as from mifery, as a falvation for which 
you muft for ever be indebted to his free and fove- 
reign grace ? Does nothing on earth or in heaven 
appear fo deiirable in your eyes, as a fhare in the 
falvation procured by the blood, and applied by the 
Spirit of Chrift ? Are not thefe views and difpofi- 
tions, fo different from what you formerly felt iri 
yourfelves, indications of a divine power opening 
your hearts, like Lydia's, to receive the truth, and 
to receive Chrift revealed in the word of truth ? 
The working of God is to be feen in the works 
which he does. His eternal power and godhead 

were 






£34? ON THE CONDITION AND DUT!f 

were feen, or ought to have been feen, by the Keax- 
thens, in the things that were made by his power.- 
And his operation upon the fouls of men may be 
feen in thofe views of the mind, in thofe tempers of 
the heart,, wh ich can be the production of nothing 
lefs than a divine power. 

Perhaps, you will fay, if this- be the oafe, I am 
ftill in my firft eftate,. and can find no encourage- 
ment from the review of my own feelings or exer-- 
cifes of mind to believe ori Chrift. I know that 
without Chrift I mull perifli; I* have often felt* 
earne ft longings to partake of his grace. But I' 
have not that deep conviction of guilt, that ardent 
defire of Chrift and his^ falvation, as a falvation from a 
fin as well as mifery,. which is felt by every genuine, 
believer. What right then have I to conclude that* 
I have any claim upon Chrift, or a right to look for- 
his mercy to eternal life? 

To this I anlwer, that you may be miftaken, and -i 
you may be right in what you fay of your own ex-- 
perience. Thofe who know bell the evil of fin 5 , 
and the finfulnefs of their own hearts, are leaft dif-~ 
pofed to think that they are fuflkiently humbled <i 
under views of their finful ftates. Thofe, whofe- 
hearts are pofTeffed by the moft ardent defires after 
Ghrift, are moft grieved that their defires after him 
are fo faint and languid ; for what defires of our 
narrow hearts after. Chrift bear any proportion to 
the infinite excellency and grace which are feen in ■ 
liim by a foul illuminated with his Spirit ? 

But have you forgotten that your right to Chrift • 
is to be found, not in your own hearts, but in the 
word of God ? I do not fay that you have an inte- 
rest 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 28i5 

reft in Chrift, nor do I fay that you have any better 
right to believe on Chrift than the moft thoughtlefs 
and profane of your neighbours. What I fay is, 
that you have the fame right that every gofpel hearer 
has, to believe on him, and that if you are awaken- 
ed to a fenfe of your need of Chrift, you are lefs 
excufable than your thoughtlefs neighbours, if you 
do not make ufe of this right. The reafon why I 
have fpoken of the manner in which God draws 
men to Chrift, is not to afford you a pretence for 
deferring the duty of believing till you feel the evi- 
dence of God's drawing power, but to convince you 
that you ought not to fufpend your duty upon fuch 
feelings. God gives you rich and fufficient encou- 
ragement in his word to hope for the effectual work- 
ing of his power j but you muft leave him to his 
own ways of exerting it, and endeavour, without 
afking queftions, to comply with his revealed will. 
When Jefus ordered the difciples to divide the five 
loaves amongft twelve or fourteen thoufand perfons, 
they did not tell him that it would only expofe them 
to derifion from .the multitude to comply with his 
orders, t;ill he multiplied the loaves. They did 
what he commanded them to do, and found that his 
commandment was not vain. He multiplied the 
loaves when the multitude received them. Thus, 
when God commands you to believe on the name 
of his Son, you muft not fay to him, c Firft do what 
thou alone canft do, and give me good evidence that 
thou doeft it, and then I will do what thou requirefl 
me to do.' Say rather, « It is a good thing that a 
man fhould both hope and quietly wait for the fai- 
vatioa of the Lord. I will therefore endeavour to 

wait 



286 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY 

wait for his falvation, depending on his word, and 
complying with his will/ His command to believe 
on the name of his Son, is not defigned to enfnare 
us. It is a gracious commandment, and blefled are 
they who are determined, by divine grace, to make 
his -will the rule of their conduct, rather than the 
vain reafonings of their own hearts. 

Do you allege that there is a great appearance of 
contradiction between our doftrine of man's inabi- 
lity to believe, and our injunction to believe ? Re- 
member that both the do&rine and injunction are 
God's, and not ours ; and God calls the things that 
be not as though they were. The Almighty may 
prefcribe whatever he pleafes with effecl;. He fays 
to the deep, Be thou dry ; and dries up all the ri- 
vers. He fays to the blind;, See, and to the dead, 
Live. 

God commands men to believe on the name of 
his Son, and I know that I cannot come to Chrift 
unlefs God himfelf draws me. What then ? Shall 
I refufe to comply with the call ? On the fame 
ground I may refufe to do any thing that God re- 
quires me to do. He requires me to fanctify the 
Lord's day. I cannot fandtify the Lord's day with- 
out the help of his grace. Yet I will not fpend the 
day in fieep. I will not plow my ground or fow 
my feed on that holy day. I will reft from my la* 
bours. I will read and hear the word of God. I 
will endeavour to pray. I can do none of thefe 
things acceptably without grace from above. God 
will, I hope, make his grace fufficient for me. If 
ke fhould, in his fovereignty, withhold that grace 

whiclt: 



OF UNCONVERTED SINNERS. 281 

which I need, I cannot complain ; but I muft mourn 
bitterly, becaufe I lofe that precious time which 
might have been employed to fo great advantage. 
Yet, after all, my tin will not be fo great, though 
left to myfelf, in my endeavours to ferve God, as it 
would have been if I had profanely fpent the day 
in my ordinary employments, or in wilful idlenefs. 
I know that I cannot prefent an acceptable prayer to 
God, if I am left to myfelf. Shall I therefore ne- 
ver bend my knees till I feel an impulfe upon my 
mind to prayer ? I cannot derive any benefit from 
reading the Bible, without fpiritual illumination. 
Shall I therefore fufFer my Bible to be covered with 
duft, till I perceive a divine light fpringing up into 
my mind ? Thus, I know that I cannot by faith en- 
ter into God's reft, unlefs God work in me the work 
of faith with power ; yet I will labour to enter into 
that reft of God, left I fall after former examples of 
unbelief. That God who fays to me, " Labour to 
enter into this reft," is 4 abundant in goodnefs and 
truth. It is for my benefit that he gives this com- 
mandment, and he hath promifed to turn the heart 
of ftone into an heart of nefti. 

Is there a contradiction between the doctrine of 
mens inability to believe, and the commandment to 
believe ? It may as well be faid that our holy reli- 
gion is full of contradictions in every part of it. 
There is no anore contradiction here, than between 
the doctrine of unity and trinity in the nature of 
God, the doctrine of God's immutability and the 
.incarnation of a divine perfon, the doctrine of Su- 
preme Providence governing all our affairs, and the 

duty 



283 ON THE CONDITION AND DUTY, &C. 

duty of diligence in our callings. All God's ways 
are right and wife. Our comments upon them 
are often vain. God befl knows the conclufions 
that ought to be drawn from his own precious 
truths. 







DISCOURSES 



ON THE 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 



IN THE 



CONVERSION- OF SINNERS. 



- s~* ;,■.„ ., .^ "as 



Bfc 



DISCOURSES, &c 



DISCOURSE I. 

So then, it is not of him that ivilleth, nor of him 
that runneth, hut of God that fheweth mercy, 
Rom. ix. 16. 

JL hat God, and not ourfelves, nor any 
creature, muit be our truft and our hope, if we feek 
happinefs in this world or the next, is abundantly 
evident from every part of the Scripture. But that 
we may learn for what, and how we are to truft in 
God, it is neceflary for us to give eaVneft heed .to 
thofe inftruclions which the word of God gives us, 
and, at the fame time, to attend carefully to the 
workings of our own proud hearts, that we may not,, 
under their perverting influence, depart from the li- 
ving God. 

The unbelieving Jews trufted to themfelves that 
they were righteous, and would not accept of the 
gift of righteoufnefs fet before them in the goipel. 
Thus Ifrael, which fought after the law of righte- 
oufnefs, did not attain to it, bec?-ufe they placed their 
dependence on their own works, and not upon that, 
grace which reigns through righteoufnefs by Jems 
Chrift .our Lord. Beware of imitating them, left 
Chrift become of no effect to you. ** Whomever 

©F 



292 O^ THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GKACE 

of you are juflified by the law, ye are fallen from 
grace." 

But to truft to your own ftrength is no lefs dan- 
gerous than to truft to your own righteoufnefs. The 
almighty grace of the Spirit of God is no lefs need- 
ful for you than the redemption of Chrift. Salva- 
tion is " not of him that willeth, nor of him that 
runneth, but of God that fheweth mercy. " 

All men, fay fome, have a fufficiency of grace 
given them for Chrift's fake, who died for all. 
They may improve, or neglecl, or mifimprove it as 
they pleafe. All that the Spirit of God has further 
to do with any man, is to fpread motives before his 
mind, or to urge them, perhaps, upon his heart. 
But it depends upon himfelf, whether he will com- 
ply- with the calls of trie gofpel, or the inward fug- 
geftions of the Spirit. 

Jf this is all that the Spirit of God finds it ne- 
ceffary to do in the hearts of thofe that mail be fa- 
ved, true believers are under great obligations, no 
doubt, to, him ; but not under peculiar obligations. 
Many that mall perifl* for ever^ are as much indebt- 
ed to him as the greater! faints. The fongs of fal- 
vation in the heavenly world will be fung with joy, 
but they will not be afcriptions of praife to God for 
diflinguiming mercy. What greater mercy was be- 
llowed upon them, than upon many in the burning 
lake, who were once enlightened, and tafted of the 
heavenly gift, but fell away, never to be recovered 
to repentance ? Peter was not more indebted to God 
for eternal life than Judas, who heard the fermons 
of Jefus, and no doubt was a partaker of the Holy 
Ghoft in the fame way with others who will, at the 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 293- 

lait, fay, " Lord, have we not prophefied in thy 
name, and in thy name done many wondrous 
works?" to whom he will fay, " Depart from me, 
I know you not, ye workers of iniquity." 

That our wills are naturally fo perverfe, and our 
power to do what is fpiritually good is fo entirely 
annihilated in our fallen Hate, that we cannot believe 
or repent without the effectual working ©f the di- 
vine power to make us partakers of the divine na- 
ture, we have already mewed. But there is another 
doctrine on which I intend to difcourfe from this 
text, namely, That we cannot by moral ferioufnefs, 
excited to the higheft degree which can be expected 
from men, procure for ourfelves a title to that work- 
ing of the- divine power which is neceiTary for con~ 
verlioni 

When the pride of the human heart is compelled 
to leave one of its ftrong holds, it will retreat to 
another, When men find that they cannot convert 
the mfelves, they will plead that they can do many 
things which give them a title in equity, if not in 
ftrict juftice, to the favour of God.- They will fo 
far reform their conduct, that, if they cannot plead 
the righteoufnefs of God as the ground of their 
hope, they may form a claim to his favour from his 
goodnefs, which,- they think,.-. would be difhonoured 
if he did not mew his mercy to thofe who do as 
well as they can, although they do not all that they 
ftould. 

We may indeed found valid pleas for favour upon 
the goodnefs of God,,and upon his righteoufnefs as 
well as his goodnefs ; but thefe pleas muff be ma- 
naged by faith in Chrift. The promifes of the 
&b 3 word 



29 4t ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

word of God, which "are yea and amen in Chrift," 
are directed to finners in general, that they may be 
warranted to take hold of God's covenant. And 
God will not he unrighteous, to forget or to violate 
his gracious promife to the meaneft or weakeft be- 
liever in Chrift. But where there is no true faith 
in Chrift, men have no actual intereft in the pro- 
mifes that are addreflfed to them. A gift does not 
make any thing our property when it is not recei- 
ved. Unbelief fays to God, * Let thy gifts be to 
thyfelf.' Can the unbeliever then have any pretence 
to find fault v/ith God, becaufe he leaves him deiti- 
tute of thofe bleffings which he beftows in abun- 
dance upon them that believe .? Could that genera- 
tion of Ifraelites which was delivered from the bon- 
dage of Egypt, blame the God of Ifrael becaufe 
they were not brought into the promifed land I 
When they found that they muft die in the wilder- 
nefs, they repented of their rebellion ; but the oath 
of God Hood fail, that they mould not enter into his 
reft. Unto us are the glad tidings of reft publifh- 
,ed, as well as to them, and thofe who believe do' 
enter into that reft ; but unbelievers rmift come 
fhort of it, not becaufe there was not a promife left 
them of entering into that reft, but becaufe their 
unbelief rejects the promife, Heb. iv. l. 

That we may more clearly explain the point in 
craeftion, let us confider, 

I. What religious exertions may be found amongft" 
perfons deftitute of faving grace. 

II. Whether fuch religious exertions give them 
any claim upon that grace, which is abfolutely ne« 
c^lTary to their falvation* 

1. Whaf 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 2m 

I. What religious inclinations or exertions are to 
be found in perfons deftitute of faving grace ? 

" It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that 
runneth j but of God that fheweth mercy." The 
meaning of thefe words may be, that men can nei- 
ther will nor do, till God is pleated to work in them 
both to will and to do. It is certain that, without 
divine grace, the will of men, naturally perverfe, 
cannot be truly inclined to faith and holinefs. " Ye 
ivill not come unto me," fays Chrift, *' that ye may 
have life." Thefe words imply, that the great hin- 
drance to the obtaining of life by Chrifl lies in 
mens own wills. They cannot, becaufe they wilfe 
not, come unto him. When his people are made 
\villing in the day of his power, then, and not foon- 
er, they are adorned with the beauties of holinefs, 
John v. 40. Pfal. ex. S. 

It is no Ids certain, that m-en will not run, nor 
fo much as walk a fingle ffep- in the way of God ? 3 
commandments, till God draw them,, and entice their 
hearts, John vi. 44, Pfal. cxix. 22. 

Yet the mod natural meaning of the words of the 
text feems to be, that however men may wilh, or 
with whatever earneilnefs they may endeavour to 
be religious, yet their wifhes and efforts will be vain 
without that mercy from God, which he difpenfes 
according to his own fovereign pleafure, ver. 3 5. 

According to this explication, men may both will 
and run without fanclifying grace, but neither their 
willing nor their running can change their unhappy 
Hate, or bring the fovereign Difpofer of the ftates 
of men under any obligations, from his equity or 

his- 



2g6 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

his faithfulnefs, to bellow upon them that blened-- 
nefs which they feek. 

1. There maybe inclinations of a religious na- 
ture in unconverted perfons. I do not fay that there 
are holy tempers or difpofitions to be found in them. 
But religion, of fome kind, is fo natural to man, 
that, even in his fallen ftate, he wifhes to enjoy the 
favour of his Maker,- and to have his wrath averted^ 
from him. 

** When the Gentiles," fays the apoflle, " which 
have not the law, do by nature the things contained 
in the law, thefe, having not the law, are a law unto 
themfelves." If even amongfl heathens, confcience 
powerfully prompted men to the performance of 
things enjoined by the law, muft it not poffefs a 
greater authority, when it is enlightened and invigo 
rated by the Scripture, which fo clearly reveals the?* 
wrath pf God againit all unrighteoufnefs and ungod— 
linefs of men ? 

Our conferences muft be " feared with an hot 
iron," if we are not defirous to efcape from the wratli- 
to come. All of you, good and bad, wifh to efcape 
thofe everlafting burnings that are prepared for the 
ungodly. Your very appearance in this place is a 
proof that you deiire to be faved. 

Unconverted perfons may not only wifh to efcape 
future punifhments, but to enjoy future bleflednefs 
in heaven. They cannot fincerely deiire that blef- 
fednefs which, according to Scripture,, conftitutes the 
felicity of the redeemed of the Lord. The enjoy- 
ments which this world affords, or which it might 
afford if they had every thing their hearts could, 
wifh, are preferable, in their eitimation ? to the vifion 

and 






IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS* i$t 

and likenefs of the Lord God and the Lamb. But 
we know that we muft die, and go either to the re- 
gions of perdition or of blifs ; and, if we mull 
leave the prefent world, who would not rather be 
received into the paradife of God, to dwell with the 
holy angels, than be thruft down into thofe regions 
of fire, which were prepared for the devil and his 
angels ? 

But can unconverted men really wifh to forfake 
fin, to live holy lives ? We know that Balaam 
wifhed to die the death of the righteous 3 but he* 
did not wifh to live their life. 

Balaam indeed had not any fincere defiVe to live 
the life of the righteous, for he u loved the wages 
of unrighteoufnefs ;" and yet there were times when 
he exprelTed ftrong refolutions to live obediently to 
the will of God. " If Balak mould give me his 
houfe full of filver and gold, I could not go beyond 
the commandment of the Lord my God, to fpeak 
good or evil," Numb. xxii. 

Unconverted perfons may certainly detefl many 
fins. All Ifrael abhorred the iniquity of the men 
of Gibeah, who abofed the Levite's concubine, and 
of their brethren, the tribe of Benjamin, who refu- 
fed to deliver them up to condign punifliment. *f He 
that withholdeth corn," fays Solomon, " the people 
fhall curfe him ; but bleffmgs fhall be upon the 
head of him that felleth it." " He that, in thefe 
things," fays Paul, (in righteoufnefs, peace, and joy 
in the Holy Ghoft), " ferveth Chrift, is accepted of 
God, and approved of men." He is not only ap~ 
proved of faints, but of men in general. Hazael, 
before he was king of Syria, detefted thofe very 

crimes 



29S ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

crimes which he afterwards perpetrated in the ful~ 
nefs of his pride and power. 

Unconverted perfons may even wim to be freed 
from the chains of thofe corrupt lufls, which have 
long held them faft. I have known a drunkard, 
who, for months, or perhaps for a whole year, would 
avoid temptations to his favourite fin, and be again 
entangled therein, and overcome, when a ftrong 
temptation prefented itfelf. I believe there are few 
drunkards, or gluttons, that do not frequently wifli, 
and refolve to reform. When they feel the bitter 
effects of their fin, in tbofe difeafes which a kind* 
Providence has annexed to it, they will condemn 
their folly. What have we any more to do with 
this idol, which has r bewitched us, impoverinSed, 
enfeebled us, and which threatens to cut frort our 
days? Yet, when a" little time has elapfed, their 
brutift), or worfe than brutifli appetite returns in all 
its ftrength. The mame, the pain, are forgotten ; 
reafon, religion, prefect and eternal interefts, mufl: 
ail give way to the curfed gratification of a few 
moments. Idolatry was the favourite fin of the 
children of Krael, and yet, when they were fore op- 
prefTed by their enemies, they returned, and inquired 
early after their own God, and put away their 
ftrange gods, till returning profperity baniilied the 
remembrance of their afflictions, and of all the 
refolutions they had formed in the time of dif- 
trefs. 

Perfons may wiih, in a certain fenfe, to be deli- 
vered from all fin, becaufe they have often heard 
that it is an efiential part of the character of one 
who is born of God, that he doth not commit fin. 

There. 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 299 

There is a great difference between vague and ge- 
neral views of things, and a particular infpe&ion of 
them. Sin appears to the ordinary hearers of the 
gofpel a very bad and dangerous thing, which brings 
death after it ; and, as they hate death, they mull 
hate fin as the caufe of death. But let thofe things 
that are finful be particularly confidered, and the 
deception will appear. They will not live in the 
practice of what is finful, and yet they will think, 
their own thoughts, and fpeak their own words on 
the Lord's day. They will roll proud, earthly, 
vile imaginations in their minds^ and yet they defire 
to renounce every fin. Thus men deceive them- 
felves by unmeaning words no lefs than their neigh- 
bours. You will not live in fin, becaufe you 
wifh not to be damned. But what is fin ? Every 
thing, you will fay, that is contrary to the law of 
God. But is there not a fecret refervation of ex- 
ceptions ? You will have nothing to do, as far as 
you can help it, with any fin ; only there are one, 
or two, or three fecret workings of inordinate defire, 
for which you muft have a licenfe to amufe your- 
. felves with them, at fome times, if you cannot be 
permitted to indulge them at all times. The Lord 
pardon his fervants in thefe things, which are but 
of little moment. In other things, you will en- 
deavour to need as little pardon as pofiible. 

When finners are imprefled with the convicT:ion ¥ 
that it would be dangerous for them to indulge their 
favourite inclinations, they may entertain temporary 
wifhes, and form refolutions, which they hope will 
be permanent, to renounce them. " If Balak mould 
give me his houfe full of filver and gold, I cannot 



300 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

go beyond the commandment of the Lord my God. 
If my journey difpleafe thee, I will get me back 
again." So faid Balaam. But is this really the 
voice of Balaam, the fon of Beor ? Is not this thy 
voice, holy David ? It has indeed a wonderful re- 
femblance to the voice of David. " I will fpeak 
of thy commandments before kings, and I will not 
be afhamed. I was upright before him, and I kept 
myfelf from mine iniquity." How then mall we 
diftinguiih between the voice of Balaam and the 
voice of David ? Balaam told the king that he would 
not depart a fingle inch from the path of duty. But 
his will to walk in that path was like the wifh of a 
man, whofe life is endangered by a mortified limb, 
to have it cut off. He is unwilling to lofe any mem- 
ber of his body, but he is more unwilling to die. 
Balaam loved " the wages of unrighteoufnefs," but 
this love was mightily counteracted by his wifli to 
*' die the death of the righteous." It was, at cer- 
tain times, fo powerfully reftrained, that it migh* 
appear to himfelf to be extinguifhed. But it foon 
recovered its vigour, and dictated that accurfed coun- 
sel to Balak, by which the children of Ifrael were 
enfnared in the matter of Baal-Peor. But David's 
defire to be free from fin, was like the defire. which 
every man feels to be freed from mortal ficknefs. 
He hated fin, and loved holinefs. M I will fpeak of 
thy teftimonies to kings." Why ? Not only be- 
caufe he feared the eternal King far above all earth- 
ly princes, but becaufe he loved God and his law 
above all things on the earth, Pfal. cxix. 46,-48. 
Self-love excites men to avoid every thing that they 
apprehend to be hurtful to themfelves, and a pru- 
dent 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 331 

dent felf-love will difpofe men carefully to avoid the 
mod pleafant poifons. Love to God difpofes the 
faints to hate every thing that is offenfive to him. 
Men therefore, without faving grace, may hate fin, 
not as fin, not as a thing hateful and offenfive to 
God, but as a thing deftru6Hve to themfelves. And 
they may love the duties of hjolinefs, not from any 
pleafure they take in holinefs, for true holinefs is 
their averfion, but becaufe they wifli to be happy ; 
and therefore the necefiary means of this happinefs 
mull be valued by them on account of their fuppo- 
fed beneficial tendency, though otherwife unplea- 
fant. 

What has been faid about religious affections in 
unconverted perfons may, perhaps, appear ftrange 
to fome of you, becaufe you have often heard that 
defire of grace is grace, and that genuine religion is 
to be difcerned amongft the greateft part of Chri- 
flians, rather by their defires and endeavours than 
by their attainments. This mark of grace is found- 
ed upon the Scripture. " Bleffed are they that 
hunger and thirfl after righteoufnefs, ,, Matt. v. 6. 
" Have refpec~t unto the prayer of thy fervant, and 
of thy fervants that defire to fear thy name," Neh. 
i. 11. But we may err by misapplying Scripture, 
as well as by difregarding it. Love to the brethren 
is a diftinguifhing character of faints, according to 
many paffages of the Bible ; and yet formalifts may 
deceive themfelves, by thinking that they love the 
brethren, when they either do not love them at all, 
or do not love them with that genuine regard which 
is due to them as the children of God, and parta- 
kers of the divine nature. John, who takes plea- 
C c fure 



302 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

fure in expatiating on this diitinguifrn ^clerof 

true religion, thought it neceffary to guard us sgainii 
miftakes in applying it, by telling us what is the 
true chara&er of that love which diftinguifhes the 
faints. " Hereby we know that we love the chil- 
dren of God, if we love God and keep his com- 
mandments." That love to the brethren is the only 
true Chriltian love, which originates in that love to 
God whereby we are difpofed to keep his command- 
ments. The fame thing may be obferved of thofe 
defires of grace which diftinguifh the true faint from 
the forrnalill. Then are our hungerings and thirft- 
ings after righteoufnefs fincere, when we value righ- 
teoufnefs above all its attendant felicities. Then 
are our defires to fear the mme of God genuine, 
when the defire of our fouls is to God's name, and 
to the remembrance of him, ,a%ove every thing on 
earth or in heaven. Pfal. lxxiii. 25, 26. 

" They delight to know my name," fays God of 
a wicked generation of men fpoken of by Ifaiah, 
chap.lviii. " they alkof me the ordinances of juf- 
tice, they take delight in approaching to God." 
The original word for delight in this pafiage, Ifa. 
Iviii. 3. is the fame that is ufed Neh.i. 11. concern- 
ing the temper of the genuine fervants of God, 
4< Who defire to fear thy name." Holy defires are 
a certain evidence of grace, but there may be reli- 
gious defires and delight where fin reigns. The 
itony-ground hearers, Matt. xiii. "• heard the word 
with joy," and yet they brought forth no fruit to 
perfection. 

2.. Our text fpeaks not only of willing, but like- 
wife 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS'. 303 

wife of running, in the ways of religion, without 
anj happy effect. 

Although we ought not to expert perfection of 
holinefs in this life, and may warrantably clafs our- 
felves in the number of faints whilft fin dwells and 
works in us, yet we mould carefully guard ^gainft 
felf-deception iu applying to ourfelves the character 
of real faints, fpoken of, in the Bible, without un- 
derloading what they are. It has been already ob- 
served, that there are defires to be religious, which 
will not prove that we are holy ; and one character 
often given of thofe defires which N may be confider* 
ed as marks of holinefs, is, that they are attended 
with fuitable effects. But it muit be remembered, 
that there may be very considerable effects produced 
by religious affections where there is no true holi- 
nefs. The itony-ground hearers ^brought forth no 
fruit to perfection, but the feed that was fown fprung 
up pleafantly for a time. It promifed abundance of 
fruit, although it produced nothing that was pleafing 
to God. 

The men of whom we formerly fpoke from Ifaiah>, 
eh. lviii. not only delighted to know God's ways, 
but afked of him the ordinances of juftice, and ob- 
ferved fad days. Ezekiel's gracelefs hearers came 
before him as God's people cometh, and heard him 
with pleafure, though their heart went after their 
covetoufnefs. John's hearers came from great dis- 
tances, not only to hear, but to be baptized, although 
the fmaller part of them only was converted. The 
hearers of Chrift run after him when he left them, 
and Sometimes continued fo long to hear his gracious 
words, that they were in danger of fainting through 

wearinefs 



1 04 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

wearinefs and hunger, although few of them were 
converted by his miniltry. 

" Ye did run well," fays Paul to the Galatians. 
He not only fays that they run, but that they run 
well. They heard the apoitle's difcourfes with fuch 
pleafure, and thought themfelves fo greatly indebted 
to him for bringing to their ears the glad tidings of 
falvation, that they would have plucked out their 
own eyes and given them to him. Yet he fays to 
them, " I ftand in doubt of you." All their un- 
common fervour was not fufficient to auure him of 
their happy condition. If he had feen certain evi- 
dences of their converfion at the time when they 
were running well, he could not have doubted of 
the reality of their converfion, becaufe he knew 
that he who begins the good work will perform it 
unto the day of £hrift. 

When Caligula gave orders to fet up his own 
image in the temple of Jerufalem, the whole body 
©f the people were inflamed with fuch extravagant 
zeal, that the emperor, who never helitated, before 
or after, at the doing of any thing that was frantic 
or wicked, found it neceffary to alter his purpofe. 
He was feniible that they would all rather lofe their 
lives, and fell them at a dear rate, than permit fuch 
indignity to be done to the God of their fathers. 
This was zeal for God, and it was zeal in a good 
caufe, and yet the men who were fo zealous for God 
were the moft determined enemies to Chrifl and his 
gofpel in the whole world. 

On the whole, you fee w T hat neceflky there is for 
a careful fearch of your hearts and practice, that 
you may not deceive yourfelves with empty appear- 
ances 



JN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 505 

ances of religion. Examine your defires and your 
performances, whether they are fuch as characterize 
the true fearers of the name of God. Men may 
efcape, through the knowledge of our Lord and Sa- 
viour Jefus Chrift, tfee corruptions that are in the 
world through lull, and yet continue dogs and fwine r 
2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. What will it avail us- that we de- 
lire to die the death of the righteous, if our latter 
end be with the uncircumcifed that go down to the 
pit ? To what purpofe do we run, if we do not keep 
the path of life ? Why mould- we fuffer many things 
and do many things in vain ? Herod heard John 
.gladly, and did many things becaufe of him. Could : 
all that he had done at the perfuanon of John give 
relief to his mind, when it charged him with the- 
guilt of fhedding the blood of a great prophet ? 

But there is another miitake incident to the hear-- 
ers of the gofpel, which I caution you againlt^. 
What I mean is, the prefurnptuous fuppofition, that 
although your religious affections and attainments- 
will not prove that you are in a ftate of grace, they 
may give you fome better title to the grace of God 
than you had before, or than other finners of your 
race. When you are awakened to a fenfe of your 
fins, you look about on every fide to fee if there is 
any hope for you. When you dare not hope in the 
mercy of God as a fufficient ground of confidence, - 
you will turn to yourfelves, and fondly grafp at 
every thing in your conduct and experience which 
may afford the fhadow of relief. Your eager defire 
of comfort, joined to that felf- efleem which is natu- 
ral to man, will tempt you to dream that now there 
is fomething in you which may embolden your hope 
Cc3 in 



30® 0}f THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE" 

in God. What is this but a contrivance of our 
proud fpirit to obtain falvation from the grace of 
God, and to be as little in its debt as poffible ? We 
find that we cannot live wholly by our works, but 
to beg from God himfelf we afe afliamed ; or, if we 
muft beg, we will bribe or natter the Almighty, 
that we may draw forth his liberality by fuch good 
words or fuch fmall fervices as we can afford. 

The belt things will become fnares and traps to 
us, if the Lord himfelf do not take the direction of 
our hearts. It is of God's mercy that we are awa- 
kened to a confideration of our ways r that we are 
convinced of the great evil of our fins, that we are 
difpofed to make ufe of the means of grace. But 
if we turn the effects of common operations of the 
Spirit into grounds of hope in divine grace, we en- 
deavour, in part, to work out a jufiiifying righteouf- 
nefs for ourfelves, inftead of placing our whole de- 
pendence upon that grace which reigns through 
righteoufnefs unto eternal life,, by Jefus Chrift ous 
Lord. 

" By grace are ye faved through faith, and that 
not of yourfelves ; it is the gift of God. If it be of 
grace, it is no more of works,' 7 in a lefier or greater 
degree. Rejoice in Chrift Jefus, and have no con- 
fidence in the flefh. God grant that our eyes may 
be opened to a fenfe of the infinite diftance between' 
God and us, and of the wretehednefs of our condi- 
tion as finners, that all our hope may be fixed onr 
him who came to fave finners, and^ of finners the 
chief. 

BIS- 



tit THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 307 

DISCOURSE II. 

So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of 
him that runneth, hut of God who Jheweth mercy , 
Rom. ix. 16. that any of our guilty race are recei- 
ved into the number of the children of God, and en^ 
titled to the bleffings of falvation. I have already 
endeavoured to give you fome account of thofe reli- 
gious affections and performances which are confif- 
tent with a ftate of irregeneracy. I propofed, 

II. To mew you that our utmoft endeavours, and 
the mo ft ardent, wifhes for falvation that are confif- 
tent with an unconverted Hate, give us no title of 
any kind to a participation of that grace which is 
necerTary for our falvation, 

I formerly difcourfed. on another doctrine from 
this text, That the almighty grace of God is abfo- 
hitely necefTary for our converfion, which cannot be 
effectuated by the utmoft exertion of our own natu* 
ral powers. This doctrine I endeavoured to prove 
from the consideration of plain pafiages of Scrip- 
ture which affert this truth, from the account which 
Scripture gives us of the natural ftate of man, from 
the very ftrong expreffions ufed in Scriptnre to de- 
note the mode of divine operation in the converfion of 
men, from the promifes of converfion found in the 
Bible, from the account given us in Scripture of the 
power by which many were converted, under the 
miniftry of Chrifl and his apoftles, from the models 
of prayer and thankfgiving for converfion which we 
find in Scripture. Many other arguments of uncon- 
querable force might be produced to prove this 

point, 



308 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRAC.B 

point, from the plaineft declarations of Script! 
and from the other capital doctrines which are every 
where taught in it. 

Perhaps it may be alleged that, when this point 
is proved, nothing farther remains to be faid on the 
fubject. The doctrine, that men cannot believe in 
-Chrift, or turn to God, without the effectual work- 
ing of the mighty power of God, is the fame, in ef- 
fect, with the doctrine of which we now propofe to 
fpeak. If it be true that we cannot repent or be- 
lieve unto falvation without the effectual working 
of divine grace, it mutt of courfe be true that none 
of our attainments, in a natural ft ate, can give us 
any lhadow of title to the grace of God, becaufe no 
man in his fenfes can fuppofe any obligation lying 
upon the Moft High to beftow the bell of his blef- 
iings upon men for works that have no real goodnefs 
in them. 

I allow- that the two. doctrines are, in effect, the 
fame, or fo nearly related that they mull Hand or 
fall together. It is the height of abfurdity to fup- 
pofe that God can be brought under any obligations 
to bellow upon us a gift as valuable as the heavenly 
felicity, in confideration of works that are purely 
the effects of felf-love, of works done by a man in 
whom there dwelleth no good thing, and w r ho is in 
fuch a wretched condition that, till he is faved by a 
miracle of grace, he will Hill add (in to fin, to aug- 
ment the fierce anger of the Lord. Yet it is far 
from being needlefs to combat a prevailing practical 
error, becaufe to ferious confideration it appears a 
grofs abfurdity. The arguments to be ufed for 
{hewing its unreafonablenefs will be, in a great 

meafure, 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 309 

meafure, the fame by which we have proved the 
neceffity of effectual grace ; but it will be proper 
to mew how they bear upon the fubject under our 
prefent confideration. May God make what is to 
be faid effectual to caft down the high imaginations 
of men, that they may bow before the footftool of 
his throne of grace, and may learn to look for eve- 
ry good thing from his rich and free grace, without 
pretending to claim as a debt, what muft be received 
-as a free gift. 

1. Exprefs paflages of Scripture fhew that God 
not only performs the work of converting men by 
his divine power, but that he does it according to 
his own pleafure. We need not go any farther than 
our text for a proof. He faith to Mofes, " I will 
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will 
have companion on whom I will have companion. ' 
The fame truth is afferted no lefs plainly in the 
eighteenth verfe, " Therefore hath he mercy on 
whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he 
hardeneth!" The obvious fenfe of thefe places of 
Scripture is, that our holinefs and falvation depend, 
not on the will of man, but on the will of God, 
who doubtlefs has his reafons for what he does, but 
finds them in himfelf, and not in us. 

Strong objections ftart up in the minds of men to 
this doctrine, and therefore they will endeavour to 
find fome other fenfe for the apoftle's words than we 
have given them. But let it be obferved, that Paul 
himfelf knew that an objection would be ftarted to 
it, precifely fuch as may be expected according to 
our interpretation of them, and, in his anfwer, he is 
fa far from giving a different turn to his meaning, 

that 



310 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

that he plainly takes it for granted to be the tree 
one. " Thou wilt fay then unto me, Why doth he 
yet find fault, for who hath refitted his will ? Nay, 
but, O man, who art thou that replieft againft God ? 
Shall the thing formed fay unto him that formed it, 
Why haft thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter 
power over the claj-, of the fame lump,, to make one 
veiTel to honour and another to diihonour ?" The 
Lord is the potter, we are the clay. Some of us are 
made veffels to honour, others to diihonour. The 
reafon of the difference did not lie in the clay, but 
in the potter. He makes the different velfeis ac- 
cording to his own pleafure. 

The fame truth is evidently taught, Phil. ii. 13. 
*' God worketh in you both to will and to do." 
Every good principle, every good action is here 
plainly attributed to the power of God. But how 
is his power regulated ? By his own good pleafure, . 
and not by qualities found in thofe in whom he 
works. The words of John, ch. i. 13. are ftrongly 
expreffive of this truth. M We are born again, not 
of blood, nor of the will of the nefh, nor of the 
will of man, but of God." 

2. When we confider the natural finfulnefs and- 
mifery of man, as it is defcribed from the Scripture 
in our Shorter Catechifm, it is apparent that we 
muft be converted, if we are at all converted, by 
the fovereign grace of God. 

Such is the power of fin, that nothing can deliver 
us from this accurfed tyrant but the power of God, 
Matt. xii. 29. and the divine power is, never exert- 
ed for this end till the day of effectual calling. God 
may do much for men before the day of his powers 

The. 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 311 

The Holy Spirit awakens and convinces them that 
are to be faved ; but his awakening and converting 
influence is not confined to the elect, nor do thofe in- 
fluences upon the elect that precede their converfion 
change their ftate. Sin may be powerfully check- 
ed, but it is dill deeply rooted in the heart, where 
there is no principle of holinefs to oppofe it. ' " Ei- 
ther make the tree good and his fruit good, or elfe 
the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt ; for the 
tree is known by his fruits. O generation of vi- 
pers, how can ye, being evil, fpeak good things ?" 
T-hefe words may appear ftrange to fome of you. 
Cannot an evil man fpeak good things ? Do we not 
read of fome whofe words were fmoother than oil, 
although war was in their hearts ? Have we not 
heard men fpeak good things, of whom we had rea- 
fon to entertain a very unfavourable opinion ? Who 
could fpeak better things than Balaam, the fon of 
Beor ? And yet our Lord fays, that thofe who are 
evil cannot fpeak good things. But it is to be re- 
marked that good things are evil things in evil men. 
Their corruption of heart poifons their beft words 
<and anions, for to the defiled and unbelieving there 
is nothing pure. Thus faid the Lord of hofts to 
Haggai, his meffenger, *' Alk now the prierts concern- 
ing the law, laying, If one bear holy flefh in the 
fkirt of his garment, and wi^h his Ikirt do touch 
bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, mall 
it be holy ? And the priefls anfvvered and faid, No. 
Then faid Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead 
bcdy touch any of thefe, mall it be unclean ? And 
the priefts anfwered and faid, It mall be unclean. 
Then anfwered Haggai, and faid, So is this people, 

and 



312 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

and fo is this nation before me faith the Lord, and 
fo is every work of their hands, and that which 
they offer there is unclean," Hag.ii. 11, — 14. 

Not only their openly finful works, but all their 
works were unclean. Their facrifices prefented on 
the altar of the Lord were unclean, becaufe their 
perfons were unclean. Although they did not bring 
blind and lame beafls, like the people in Malachi's 
lime, although they did not offer them, like Nadab 
and Abihu, with flrange fire, but obferved every 
rite prefcribed by the law, their facrifices could not 
be accepted till they put away the evil of their do- 
ings from before God's eyes. 

Are you in a flate of fin ? Whatever defires you 
feel of deliverance from it, whatever efforts you ufe 
for the accompli fhment of thefe defires, whilft you 
continue at a diftance from Chrift, you mult be vile 
in the eyes of the all-feeing God. How then can 
your defires or performances be pure ? If you fhould 
juftify yourfelves, and allege that you have done ail 
that you can to make yourfelves pure, your mouths 
would prove you perverfe. The love of fin reigns 
unfubdued in your hearts. Should a man come with 
a petition for his life into the prefence of his prince, 
and appear before the arbiter of his life, with his 
face, his hands, his clothes, all covered over with 
mire and dirt, would the prince think himfelf ho- 
noured ? Would he not command the prefence- 
chamber to be inflantly cleared of a man who treat- 
ed majefly with fuch contempt ? No pollutions are 
more abominable to us than fin to God ; and every 
finner before him, whatever his attainments are, is 

as 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 313 

as an unclean thing, and all his righteoufneues are 
as filthy rags. 

The confideration of our fins might well cure us 
of thole proud conceits by which we are prevented 
from humbling ourfelves to the dun before divine 
majefly. You know that you are chargeable with 
innumerable fins. But you are lorry that ever you 
behaved fo foolimly. Now you have attained more 
wifdom, and will never return to your former fol- 
lies. On the contrary, yourefolve to cry mightily to 
God for the pardon of what you have done, and 
refolve that, if you have done iniquity, you will do 
no more. What then ? Is God uuder any obliga- 
tion to comply with your wifhes ? This you will 
not venture to fay* Yet you would think your- 
felf hardly dealt with, if, when you are as penitent 
as you can be without a new heart and a new fpirit, 
you mould be rejected. But why do you think it 
would be a hard thing ? The damned in hell are a 
thoufand times more penitent, with this kind of pe- 
nitence, than you are. Is God a tyrant, becaufe he 
does not pluck them as brands out of the burning ? 
A great part of mankind, upon their death-beds* 
mourn fore for the fins of their pad lives, and would 
give worlds that what has been done could be un- 
done. Is God therefore under a neceflity, either 
from his juftice, or from his goodnefs, to give them 
repentance unto life? Then few gofpel-hearers would 
die in their fins^ except thofe who die infane, or who 
are cut off fo fuddenly that they have not time to 
repent. 

Thefe, you will fay, have no title to mercy, be- 
caufe their vehement defires of favour from God 
D d are 



314 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

are the mere effects of terror and of fel'f-love. What 
obligation can lie upon the Almighty to fhew mer- 
cy to men whofe cries for help are extorted by ne- 
ceility, and who, if they were permitted to return 
to life, would probably return to their former im- 
piety ? This is true. But what if it is as true of 
yourfelves, as of thofe that are in the agonies of 
death ? Your cries for mercy are the expremons of 
your fear and grief for yourielves. The power of 
iin is fo far from being deftroyed, that, if your fears 
were removed, -it would operate as powerfully as 
ever ; or rather, it has not ceafed to operate, though 
in a different manner. It takes cccafion, by the 
commandment coming into your fouls, to work all 
manner of concupifcence. You are not yet recon- 
ciled to the law of God. Your enmity againft the 
purity and ftri&nefs of the law, apparent in your 
own enlightened confciences, though not to the 
world, is a ftrong indication of the mighty power of 
fin. Sin, by the commandment, becomes exceeding 
finful, when it excites reflections againft that juftice 
which denounces wrath againft every foul of man 
that doth evil. 

You are better, you fay, than you oncei were, al- 
though vou cannot denv that vou are if ill too bad. 
But what rtafon have you to fay that you are bet- 
ter ? Do you take every thing into the account that 
ought to be confidered ? If you are better in your 
outward conduct, are you not- vvcrfe in the iecret 
workings of enmity 7 againft the law, which ia the 
fame thing with enmity againft God hirnfelf? Is 
your faying that you are better, any fign that you 
are difpofed to receive falvation as the gift oi nee 

and 



IN THE CpNVERSION OF SINNERS. 315 

and fovereign grace ? You have, itfeems, fomewhat 
lefs need of the Phyfician than you had formerly. 
But thofe who need the Phyncian are the fick, and 
thofe who are mod fenfible of their ficknefs are the 
ptrfons to whom the Phyncian is moil welcome. 

You ought rather to think yourfelves worfe than 
better ; and juft convictions of fin will difpofe you 
to account yourfelves worfe than ever formerly you 
thought yourfelves. You have yet all the fins of 
your former lives upon your heads, and new fins 
every day and every hour added to them. A man 
was never in a worfe ftate than he is at prefenr, if 
he is not a believer in Chriit, becaufe he never had' 
a greater load of tranfgreffionsupon his head. Eve- 
ry new fin adds to the caufes of God's wrath, and 
none of the exercifes or attainments of unconverted 
perfons can free them, in the leafl degree, from the 
guilt of any of their former fins, or compenfate for 
the new provocations by which they daily offend 
the Mod High. 

Confider your behaviour fince you were awaken- 
ed to a concern for your falvation. Have you ever 
gratified any of your corrupt inclinations fince the 
time that God began to remonftrate againil them by 
the loud voice of your own confciences ? Are you* 
fure that you have not refilled the Holy Ghoft, by 
complying with your own lulls, and with the devil, 
in oppofition to his remonftrances ? If you have 
done fo, how can you imagine that your prayers 
and tears have given you any title to the favour of 
God ? Do you not rather merit worfe damnation 
than ever, by wilfully taking part againil the Moil 
High with his irreconcileable enemy ? 

Has 



3i6 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

Has fear or (hame withheld you from fulfilling 
your former lufts ? Coniider what the fer vices are 
by which you think you have merited fome favour 
from. God. Have you not offended God by many 
■wandering imaginations in your devotions ? When 
you were finging God's praifes, were your hearts 
always fixed, and was your devotion always fer- 
vent? When you read or heard his word, were your 
hearts always penetrated wkh that reverence which 
is due to the Author of it ? And did you attend to 
it with that eameftnefs which might be expected 
from the intereiting nature of the fubje£b about 
which God deals with us in his word I When you 
duly confider how you have performed thefe fer- 
vices by which you hope to deferve fome favour^ 
you will fee that you ought rather to feek pardon 
for your duties as well as for your fins. Your 
righteoufneiles are as filthy rags.. If you pretend 
to require a compenfation for them from God, they 
muft be rejected with abhorrence. 

Prefume not to think that you can make God a, 
debtor to fuch vile duft and allies as you mull ac^ 
knowledge yourfelves to be, but lie down in your 
fhame, and let your confufion cover you, for you, 
have tranfgreifed againfl the Lord, and your trank. 
grefuons will remain marked againfl you, till they 
are purged away by the blood of Chrift. 

3. That we cannot procure for ourfelves any ma- 
do w of title to the grace of God, is evident from 
the account which the Scripture gives us of that 
grace by which fmners are faved.. 

If Adam had perfifted in his ft ate of innocence,. 
the reward bellowed upon him might have been at- 

tributed. 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 31T 

fributecl to the grace of God, in a fenfe in which 
the word grace might, without impropriety, be un- 
derftood. He could not have merited by his works 
the glorious reward promifed to him by the cove- 
nant of works ; and yet he would have been juftly 
entitled to it, if he had perfevered in uprightnefs. • 

But that grace, which is the fpring of our falva- 
tion, excludes all works. " By grace are ye faved, 
not of works, left any man fhould boaft." Men 
would have ground to boaii, if they coald by their 
works procure that grace which muft fave them ; 
or rather, that grace would be no grace, " for if it 
be of grace, it is no more of works^ other wife grace 
is no more grace." 

Grace is the fpring of our falvation. God's 
thoughts to us from eternity were thoughts of 
peace. Why ? Becaufe he forefaw fome good dif- 
pontions in us ? B} v no means. All the good difpo- 
litious that were ever to be found in^tis, are the fruits 
of God's electing lore. " He chofe us that we mould 
be holy," not becaufe he forefaw that we would be 
holy. "Before the children were bom, or had done 
good or evil, that the purpofe of God, according to 
election, might fland t not of works, but of him that 
calleth, it was faid uoto her, The elder fhall ferve 
the younger." Eph.i. 4. Rom. ix. 12, 13. 

The glory of divine grace is the end of our fal- 
vation . He raifes us to fpiritual life, " that, in the 
ages to come, he may ibew the exceeding riches of 
his grace, in his kindnefs towards us through Chrift 
Jefus." How does God glorify the riches, the ex- 
ceeding riches of his grace ? By bellowing falvation 
upon finful men, without refpecfc to any worth in 
D d 3 themfelves, 



31$ &% TjfE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

themfelves, bat according to the good pleafure of 
his own goodnefs* Our Lord teaches us what- kind 
of glory is to be afcribed to divine grace, in that 
thank fgiving to the Father, " I thank- thee f O Fa- 
ther, Lord of heaven and earth, becaufe thou haft 
hid thefe things from the wife and prudent, and haft 
revealed them unto babes. Even fo, Father, for fo 
it feemed good in thy fight," Eph. ii. %.- Matt. xi. 
25, 2(5. 

It is the glory of the grace of God to be free and 
fovereign, to difpenfe its favours to thofe who can 
find no reafon, or fhadow of reafon, to afcribe them 
to any other fource. For this reafon, God has- often 
chofen thofe who feemed of all others lean likely 
to be chofen, u that no flefh mould glory in his pre- 
fence. but that, as it is written, He that glorieth, 
let him glory in the Lord," 1 Cor. i. 26, — 31. 

Whilft ordinary finners have been reje&ed, great 
offenders have been made partakers of the rich 
blefli.igs of divine mercy. u Where the offence 
abounded, grace hath "much moi'e abounded, that, as 
fin hath reigned unto death, ,eyen fo grace might 
reign through righteoufnefs unco eternal life, by Je- 
fus Chrift our Lord," Rom. v. 20, 21. 

4. The doctrine of our rodemption by Chrift 
Jefus precludes all ideas of entitling ourfelves to the 
ble flings of divine grace, by any of our own at- 
tainments, or by any exertions of our own powers. 

Grace reigns through righteoufnefs unto eternal 
life, not by ourfelves, but by Jefus Chrift our Lord ; 
for it is he that hath expiated our fins, that hath 
procured for us our deliverance from the power of 
the old man. and all the blefirngs of falvation. To 

join. 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 31£ 

join any works done by us with the righteoufnefs of 
Chnft, is, iii fo far, to place confidence in the ikflb. 
But in Chrift is all cur falvation. He alone is our 
hope. Through his blood alone we are juftified, 
and fanctified, and admitted to the ponelTion of all 
the felicities and glories of the heavenly ftate. 

If you think that you are qualified to partake of 
divine grace, becaufe you have done ali that a man 
in your circurnftances can do, you put your own 
works in the place of the finiihed work of Chrift 
your Saviour. Do you think that there is merit 
enough in all your attainments and performances, 
to obtain for you the favour of God, notwithstand- 
ing of all that you have done to provoke his wrath? 
Then you hope that forne of your fins will be over- 
looked, and that your remiffion is in part, if not 
completely, procured by your own works. The 
blood of Jefus Chrift does not cleanfe j-ou complete- 
ly from all your fins. Some of them are cleanfed 
away, or fome part of the guilt of them is removed 
by the nitre and foap of your own endeavours. For 
how can you have any ftiadow of title to the favour 
of God, without the removal of that guilt by which 
you have provoked him ? 

We are " juftified freely by the grace of God, 
through the redemption that is in Chrift Jefus." 
Have you conndered the large import of thefe 
words ? To be juftified freely, is to be juftified with- 
out any caufe in ourfelves. It is to be juftified 
purely through the redemption that is in Chrift, ac- 
cording to the riches of the grace of God, whilft 
we have not a w T ord to fay in juftification of our- 
felves. This is plain from the train of the apoitle's 

reafoning 






320 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

reafoning in the paffage where thefe words are- 
found, Rom. iii. 9. What is the reaibn that, if we ' 
are juftified at all, we are juftiikd freely by the 
grace of God, through the redemption that is in 
Ghrift Jefus ? Becauie men are fuch finfut and mi- 
ferable creatures, that every mouth mull be flopped, 
and the world is become guilty before God, Rom. 
iii. 19-23,24. If our mouihs are ftopped by the 
law, the gofpel only can open them. We have no- 
thing to plead but that righteoufnefs which is the 
gift of God, to the unworthy and the vile. 

Throuph that death of Ghrift which has obtained 

o 

our pardon, -we are delivered from the dominion of 
fin.; and, till we partake of its viitae, fin reigus in 
us. That fentence by which our perions are jufti- 
fied, condemns our old man to deft ruction. u He 
that is dead is juftified from fin,'' Rom. vi. 7. i. e. 
He who is dead with Ghrift by his juftification, is 
delivered from fin. And if we are not delivered 
from fin till we have fellowship with Ghrift in his 
death, what can we claim from any of thole works 
which we can do, before we are fpiritually baptized 
into Ghrift, and into his death ? Can they in any 
manner recommend us to God ? Then our falvation 
from fin is effected by ourfelves in part, and effected 
whilft fin ftill reigns within us. 

Believers in Ghrift perform works that are ac- 
cepted, and gracioufly rewarded by God. But un- 
believers, whatever their attainments are, have no 
part in Ghrift, and therefore, if they are accepted, 
it muff be without the interposition of a mediator, 
or through fome other mediator than the man Ghrift 
Jefus. If there be another jefus befides him whom 

Paul 









IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 321 

Paul preached, through whom your fervices can 
come before God with acceptance, you may hope 
to procure fome title to the grace of God by your 
exertions under the influence of confcience, without 
faith in Chrift,. If there is no advocate with the 
Father but Jefus Chrift the righteous, expecT; not the 
acceptance of your perfons and fervices, but through 
the faith of him. 

5. The nature, of that faith by which we receive 
falvation, is a plain evidence that we cannot claim* 
the favour of God on account of any of our attain- 
ments, before we believe. 

Whatever difputes and j anglings may be found 
amongft Chriflians about the nature of faith in 
Chrift, one thing is abundantly evident from the 
place amgned to it in our falvation, that it receives 
the bleffings of Chrift as a free gift conferred upon 
us by divine mercy, without any claim upon God 
on account of any thing in ourfelves. Call to your « 
remembrance an important text, quoted a little ago, 
44 Every mouth is Hopped by the law^ and the 
whole world guilty before God ; therefore, by the 
deeds of the law there mail no flelh. be juftified in 
his fight." How then can any man be juftified be- 
fore God ? <f Freely by the grace of God, through 
the redemption that is in Chrift Jefus, whom God 
hath fet forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
his blood." Faith in the blood of Chrift mull then 
include a renunciation of all works in the believer, 
as the caufe of his juftification. It is the aft of a 
finner, who has nothing of his own to plead why 
he ftiould not undergo the awful fentence of the law 
which. denounces the cutfe ot God againit him. The 

law 



322 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

law of faith is contrafted by the apoftle with the 
law of works. The one,, he fays, allows, and the 
other excludes boafting. The one teaches men to 
look for the reward as a debt, and not as a gift of 
grace ; the other teaches them to believe on hi 
that juftifie's the ungodly by a righteoufnefs withou 
works. Rom, iii. 19. 23, 24, 27. iv. 5. 

What is the ground of your faith in Chrift ? Is 
it any thing in yourfelves ? Is it not the word of 
grace, in which falvation is exhibited, brought near, 
and offered to the ungodly ? If your faith is found- 
ed upon fomething in yourfelves, do you not truft 
in the flefli? f But we are the circumcifion which 
wormip God in the fpirit, anu rejoice in Chrift Je- 
fus, and have no confidence in the flefh." Abraham 
himfelf, the great pattern of our faith, found no- 
thing in himfelf of which he might glory before 
God. His feed mu ft walk in the fteps of his faith. • 
This faith muft claim nothing for them as a debt 
due to themfelves. " It is of faith that it might be 
by grace^ to the end that the promife might be fure 
to all the feed." 

When the Galatian churches were perverted by 
falfe teachers, they were far from wifhing to have 
nothing more to do with Jems Chrift the Saviour,- 
or with the grace that came to men by the revela- 
tion of jefus Chrift. But they were made to be- 
lieve that they could not be jufbifled by Chrift, un- 
lefs they performed certain works prefcribed by the 
law, which, in conjunction with the righteoufnefs of 
Chrift, would eniure their falvaaon. But what 
fays the apoftle ? u Who hath bewitched you, O , 
foolifh Gaiatians, that ye mould not obey the truth? 

Are 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 323 

Are ye fo foolifh ! having begun in the Spirit, are 
ye now made perfect in the flefh ?" 

True faith cleaves to Chrifl alone. It trufts not 
in itfelf, nor in any works that go before, or follow 
it, but in the work finifhed by Chrifl. It buys his 
gold and fine raiment, his milk and his honey, with- 
out money and without price. It brings nothing to 
him, but receives every thing from him, that all the 
glory of our falvation may be attributed to him 
alone. It heartily affents to the declaration of a 
promifing God. " Not for your fakes do I this. 
Be aihamed and confounded for your own ways, O 
houfe of Ifrael." 

c". It is evident, from experience, that many fall 

not to rife again, who once difcovered great concern 

about their falvation. Balaam, at one time, would 

not go beyond the commandment of the Lord to 

fpeak a iingle word ; and yet, at another time, he 

gave counfel to Balak to caft a flumbling-block 

before the children of" Ifrael to commit fornication, 

and to eat things facrificed to idols. Many, at the 

llaft day, will have much to fay of their attainments, 

who are found to have been workers of iniquity, 

Matt. vii. 21, 22. We cannot have forgotten what 

is faid in,, the parable of the fower concerning the 

Irony-ground and the thorny-ground hearers, Matt. 

xiii. or what Peter fays concerning men who have 

efcaped the corruption that is in the w r orld, through 

the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, 

and yet are again entangled and overcome. 2 Peter 

ii. 20. 

Will then fome of the ungodly have reafon to 
complain at the lad clay, that they had done every 

thing 



324 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

thing poflibie to be done in their circumftances, and 
yet come fhort of heaven ? It is fnfficient to fay, in 
anfwer to this queftion, that the day of judgment is 
the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment 
of God. It will then be found that mens deiiruo 
tion was of themfelves, and that the reafon why the 
hearers of the gofpel who continued in unbelief 
were not faved, was that which Chrift himfelf 
affigns, u Ye would not come unto me, that ye 
might have life." They could not repent, becaufe 
they would not. Whatever impreffion the truth 
made upon their confciences, they did not receive 
the love of the truth that they might be faved. If 
they had truly hungered and thirlted after righte- 
oufnefs, they would have received the blelTmg from 
the Lord. 

Who will be able to fay at that day, that he did 
what he could to obtain falvation, and was difap- 
pointed ? Where is the man to be found, of whom 
it can be faid that he does every thing that man can 
do to pleafe God, in a fuitablenefs to his condition, 
whether he is regenerate or unregenerate ? 

Jt may perhaps be faid of fome, even of the un- 
regenerate, that they make every religious exertion 
which can be reafonably hoped for from men in 
their condition. What we have faid of fuch pep- 
fons is, that they cannot procure for themfelves, by 
their exertions, a title to divine mercy. We have 
not faid that God will never have mercy upon them, 
for all the objecls of divine mercy are perfons 
that have no claim upon it. Thofe who feek to 
enter in and are not able, meet with no injull ce. 
They feek not as they ought to feek. God fulfils 

every 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 325 

«very prornife of his word. He rewards every good, 
work. He {hews mercy to thoufands that never 
could deferve it. He does injuftice to none. 

But are there no promises in the word of God, 
that, if men do what they can, God will do for 
them what they cannot ? Where are fuch promifes 
to be found ? <4 Your heavenly Father will give the 
Holy Spirit to them that alk him." This, fome will 
fay, is a prornife of the Holy Spirit to them that alk 
him the beft way they can, before they partake of 
his grace ; for if they had already received the 
grace of the Spirit, why mould they afk him ? But 
is it not faid, " Let him alk in faith, nothing wa- 
vering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the fea 
driven of the wind and tofled ; for let not that man 
think that he fhall receive any thing of the Lord ?" 
The Lord may hear prayers that are not preferr- 
ed to him in faith, for his mercy is difpenfed by 
him according to his own will. He heard the 
prayer of Jehoahaz, for relief to Ifrael, although 
Jehoahaz never was a found believer, for he depart- 
ed not all his days from the (ins of Jeroboam. But 
he was not under any obligations to hear his prayers, 
nor had he any reafon, from any promifes in the Bi- 
ble, to hope that he would be heard. As God does 
for his people exceeding abundantly above what 
they aik or think, fo he often does for nnners what 
they had no reafon to expect ; for he is abundant in 
goodnefs and truth. He often gives what he has 
not promifed. He never gives lefs. He is not 
bound to accomplifh the promifes that we make to 
ourfelves by our vain comments upon his words ; 
E e but 



326 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 



but not aught fhall fail of any good thing that he 
has given us reafon from his word to expect. 

He will 4 * give the Holy Spirit to them that alk 
him." This is a powerful encouragement to feek 
the Spirit in his bk fled influences, although we do 
not feel his influence. We may fay frill more. "It 
is an encouragement to thofe who are entirely defti- 
tute of the fanctifying influence of the Spirit, to 
alk him. But how ? To alk him in faith. We 
have certainly no encouragement in the Bible to alk 
or to expect any thing without faith. Unbelievers 
cannot pray in faith, till the Spirit is given them to 
work faith in their hearts. But he giveth more 
grace to them to whom he hath already given grace, 
for u to him that hath iball be given." And thole 
who have no grace are invited' to alk what they 
want. God may be pleafed to give that grace which 
they feek, when, in obedience to his word, they en- 
deavour to feek it. If grace were bellowed upon 
none but thofe who have fome claim to it, it would 
be bellowed upon none, or rather, it would not be 
grace. 

We are not to infer from any thing which has 
been faid, that it is abfolntely in vain for perfons in 
a natural ftate to attempt any act of religion, and 
that it is no worfe for them to live according to 
the bent of their corrupt affections without controu!, 
than to live foberly ; or, that they may as well re- 
lign themfelves to utter inactivity in every thing 
that belongs to religion, as ftrive to enter in at the 
itrait gate, fince fo many ftrive to enter in and are 
not able. The following obfervations may convince 

us 



I 



m THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 327 

us that the devil is the prompter of fuch pernicious 
counfels. 

1. Such a conclufion is dire&ly contrary to the 
advice of our Lord Jefus Chrift. '* Strive to enter 
in at the ftrait gate, for many, I fay unto you, mall 
feek to enter in, and mall not be able." The rea- 
fon why our corrupt minds tell us it is ufelefs to 
flrive, is the reafon why we mould ftrive to enter 
in. Will you comply with the advice of your great 
enemy, or your bed friend ? You cannot have a bet- 
ter friend than Chrift. You cannot have a worfe 
enemy than him who perfuades you to rejecl: the 
counfel of Chrift. 

2. Although duties performed with moral feri- 
oufnefs by unregenerate perfons are not acceptable 
to God, yet they are not fo bad as the omiflion of 
them. If our very prayers, fay fome, are finful, it 
is better not to pray. It is indeed better not to 
pray, than to pray like the ancient Pharifees, mere- 
ly to be feen of men, and to obtain a falfe reputa- 
tion for piety, to be ufed for malignant purpofes. 
But when motives of confcience, and a fenfe of our 
dependence upon God, induce us to pray, although 
we cannot pray in faith, we are not behaving in 
fuch a finful manner as thofe who utterly neglecl 
prayer. There is, in fome refpe&s, a like difference 
between morally ferious perfons and profane per- 
fons, as between Judas and Peter, when the one de- 
nied his Lord through weaknefs, and the other be- 
trayed him through wilful wickednefs. Sins differ 
greatly from one another in their nature and aggra- 
vations ; and, if you fay that it. is as good for a 
man to do nothing at all in religion, as to do nothing 

in 



'■-»~S ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

in an acceptable manner, you err as widely as the 
ancient Stoics, who alleged that all fins were 
equal. 

You have read the hiftory of Amaziah, king of 
Judah, who did that which was right in the fight of 
the Lord, " but not like David his father," as one of 
■the infpired writers fays ; or, «* not with a perfed 
heart," as another of them exprefTes it. He was 
Weffed w T ith profperity by God, whilfl he praclifed 
the duties of religion, though not with a perfect 
heart. He was feverely reproved, threatened and 
pun iined by God, when he caft off the pro fe in on of 
the true religion. Why fo ? He was no worfe than 
before, if profligates are not worfe than formalifts* 
The fin of the former confifts in utter contempt of 
God ; the latter entertain fome reverence for him, 
though they are deftitute of that holy fear which 
is tempered and fweetened with love. The former 
regard God fo little, that they will not fo much as 
pay an external obedience to his commands ; the 
latter durft not for their lives and fouls treat God's 
commandments with fuch profane neglect, although 
they cannot ferve him with that confidence and love 
which he requires. The wilful wickednefs of the 
one is certainly more criminal than the weaknefs of 
the other. 

3. Diligent ufe of the means of graee ufually 
produces good effect's, even when they are not at- 
tended with faving grace. There are common as 
well as. faving influences of the Spirit. The former, 
though they do not neceflarily accompany falvation, 
are of great advantage to the world and to the 
church* 

Whea 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 329 

When" perlbns are accuftomed to the reading and 
hearing of God's word, although they are not fanc- 
tified, they are preferved from many evils into which 
others fall. They efcape, as the apoftle Peter fays, 
the corruption that is in the world through lull. 
If they fall away, their lafl ftate is indeed worfe 
than their firft. But they do not always fall away; 
and till they do, they are preferved from many evils 
into which they might have fallen, evils hurtful to 
the body, to the foul, to the eftate. And they are 
induced by powerful motives to do many things be- 
neficial to fociety and to the church, and to do things 
alfo which may prove eventually beneficial to their 
own fouls as well as to the fouls of other men. 
44 Wifdom excelleth folly, as far as light exce!leth 
darknefs," This is true of fcientific and of moral 
wifdom, though in a far higher fenfe of fpiritual 
wifdom. It is a queftion which perhaps we cannot 
anfwer, whether Cyras of Perfia ever knew the 
grace of God in truth. But allowing him to have 
never attained any higher wifdom than that for 
which he is celebrated by. all the world, who does 
not fee that his character was incomparably fuperior 
to that of his fori, Cambyfes. The former was a 
blelhng, the latter a curfe, to their many millions of 
fubje£ts. Thus, in private life, profane perfons are 
the bane of fociety, whilft men of fober and decent 
conduct are ufeful to all with whom they are con- 
nected. It rauft indeed be confefTed that their fo- 
briety, and their virtuous conduct, are a fnare to 
themfelves if they truil to them, and may become a 
fnare to their thong-' »tlefs neighbours, if their ac- 
complimments are fuppofed to procure that refpecl 
Ee3 from 



330 tW THE SOVEREIGNTT OF GRACE 

from God to which they are entitled from mem 
But there is nothing fo good in this world,, as to be 
incapable of being abufed to bad purpofes. Real 
piety may be perverted to bad purpofes. Paul need- 
ed a thorn in his flefh- to preferve him from being 
lifted up above meafure by the abundance of the re- 
velations that were made to him. 

When Rehoboam and the princes of Judah hum- 
bled themfelves, and returned to the observance of 
the law, it is faid that in Judah things went well r 
and yet it is faid that he did evil, becaufe he prepa- 
red not his heart to feek the Lord, 2 Chron. xii. 
15. 

4. Thofe who diligently ufe the means of grace 
are much more likely than thofe who defpife them r 
to partake of the grace of the Spirit. 

Although a natural man cannot perform any duty 
in a manner acceptable to God, ytt r in the practice- 
cf it, he ufes thofe means by which God ufes to 
communicate his grace to them who fhall be the 
heirs of falvation. When we hear or read the 
word of God, we approach the tabernacles of God r 
if we do not come to God himfelf. He is prefent 
in his own inftitutions, to" command the bleffing^, 
even life for evermore. Nor does he confine his 
bleffings to his nncere worlhippers. Often has he 
been found in his houfe by them that aiked not for 
him, or that never fought him after the due order- 
How is it. that fo many millions have been truly 
converted ?■ By the gofpel of his grace. It is the 
power of God to the falvation of the loft. " The 
entrance of his word giveth light, it giveth under- 
Handing unto the fimple." " The law of the Lord is. 

perfec\ 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 331 

^erfed, converting the foul," What foul ? Of the 
finner certainly ; for -Chrift in his word calls not 
the righteous, but fmners to repentance. The word 
is ineffectual without the Spirit; and it would be 
prefumptuous in finners to imagine that we can pro- 
cure for ourfelves the gift of the Spirit. But it is- 
not prefumptuous to believe that, wherever God re- 
cords his name, he will come to his people and blefs 
them. " There mall be mowers of bleffings, and 
God will make all the places about his hill a blef- 
fing-;" and may not finners, when they go up to the 
hill of the Lord, indulge the humble hope that God, 
for his own fake and not. theirs, may make them 
fharers of his liberality ? 

We cannot pray as we ought, but we mould en- 
deavour to pray, and to pray in faith'; and who 
know'S but God, who has commanded even unbe- 
lievers to believe and to pray, may give them that 
grace by which they will be enabled to perform ac- 
ceptable devotion ?. It is the duty of all, believers 
and unbelievers, to da what he requires, and when 
they are fenfible they cannot do it, to endeavour, in 
a dependence on his own grace, to do it. When 
Jefus faid to Peter, *' Let down thy net into the 
fea," Peter faid, " Lord, I have toiled all night, and 
have caught nothing, yet at thy word I will let 
down the net into the fea." Peter could eaiiiy let 
down his net into the fea ; but what did that ligni- 
fy ? He could not force the fifties to come into k. 
He had toiled in vain all the night, and it was not 
likely that the pocr animals which had avoided his 
nets in the night, would be caught in the day ; but 
jeius had commanded him to let down his net into 

the . 



332 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OT GRASS 

the deep. The word of Jefus was furncient. He 
lets down his net, and the divine power brings more 
fifties than the net could bear. 

You cannot meditate with delight on the truths^ 
of God, but you can recal them to your minds, you 
can revolve them m your thoughts. What you 
cannot do God can do. He can command light to 
mine into your fouls, by means of that word which 
he hath given to be a lamp to your feet, and a light 
to your paths. 

Some will allege, that the doctrine on which we 
have been difcourfing fo long is very unpleafant. 
" This is a hard faying, who can hear it. ?" faid 
fome of the hearers of Jefus. But we muft not 
confine our attention to plea fan t fubjects. It is 
much more pleafant to think of fome of thofe glo- 
rious victories which our foldiers and Teamen have 
gained in. former wars, than to think of the dangers 
that threaten us at prefent from France. Evils 
muft be thought of when they are prefent, or when 
they are approaching, that they may be removed or 
kept at a diftance. It is unpleafant to hear of our 
extreme depravity, and our utter inability to do any 
thing for our own relief, or to procure relief from 
him who is able to give it. But it is not only ufe- 
ful, it is neceffary for us to know our condition, that 
we may not deceive ourfelves with falfe hopes. 
Self-confidence is natural to us. It fliifts its forms? 
and afliimes fo many different ihapes, that, like Sa- 
tan transforming himfelf into an angel of light, it 
will deceive us to our ruin, if we are not on our 
guard. E^en we, who have often read the Bible, 
and have often heard of the danger of trufting to- 

oux 






IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 333 

our own righteoufnefs, ought not to think- that we 
are in no danger of being entangled in that fnare of 
the devil, which has proved fatal to fo many of our 
race. It is necenary for us often to call to mind 
how little we can do for ourfelves, or rather, that 
without Chrift we can do nothing. Our corrupt 
nature, in which there dwelleth no good thing, will 
often tell us that we can at leaft do fomething that 
fhould procure divine favour, and its proud dictates 
mult be countera&ed by the faithful representations 
which the word of God makes of our condition. 
We greatly need the grace of God ; but the great 
lofs is, that we are little fenfible of our need. We 
are difpofed to think that we are rich, or that, if 
we are poor, we have it in our power to procure, 
one way or other, what we need. 

]f it be true, that nothing is more dangerous than 
pride, nothing more neceiJary than humility, thofe 
doctrines muft be necefiary, whofe tendency it is to 
humble the haughty heart of man, that, renouncing 
all thoughts of merit in any form, we may fubmit 
•to the righteoufnefs of faith, and view it as the gift 
of grace. 

" God, I thank thee that I am not as other men." 
This was the language of the proud Pharifee. " God 
be merciful to me a fmner." This language of the 
publican is fitted to the mouth of fallen creatures. 
That vve may fpeak this language in fincerity, it is 
neceffary to know how worthlefs and how weak we 
are. 

Some will make a very bad improvement of the 
moil humbling and falutary truths. If we are fo 
anable, they will fay, to do any thing truly good, or 

any 



334 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACET 

any thing that may entitle us to expe&what is gooH 
from God, we cannot be greatly blamed for not do- 
ing what we cannot do. Who would blame a man 
becaufe he cannot fly like birds, when nature has 
refufecl him wings ? And who will blame men for 
their inability to do any thing that can pleafe God^ 
when he does not think fit to give us flrength in our 
natural conftitution, or to give us grace by his Spi- 
rit, to do what is pleafing in his fight ? 

The anfwer to this queflion is too eafy. God is- 
certainly not an hard mailer, reaping where he has 
not fown, or gathering where he has not ftrewed - T 
but we are wafteful and wicked fervants, who have, 
hy our apoilafy from God, difabled and indifpofed 
ourfelves for his fervice. God is fo far from being 
obliged to accommodate his laws to the powers left 
us in our fallen ftate, that he is obliged, if we may 
fpeak fo, to the very reverfe. He is holy by a ne- 
ceffity inherent in his nature, and therefore he can- 
not but require fervice from us, which we cannot 
perform. If he could be pleafed with any thing 
that, in our fallen ftate, we can do, he muft be plea- 
fed with fin, and muft forfeit all the glory of his 
name as the Holy One of Ifxael, who is of purer 
eyes than to behold fin or to look upon iniquity. 

If you aik why he does not confer upon all fin- 
ners fuch a meafure of help, that they may be ena- 
bled to merit fomething ftill better from him by the 
good improvement of what they have, I would aik 
you two or three queflion s in return. What claim 
have all men upon God for that grace which you 
think he ought to bellow upon them, and what rea- 
fon have you to think, that, if all men were put m 

pofTeffioni 









IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 335 

pofieflion of tha»t little rtrength, which you think 
they might improve to fuch advantage, they would 
make ufe of it to the end for which it was given 
them ? 

What claim have fallen men to that grace which 
you think would be fo ufeful to them ? Have they 
not juftly incurred the curfe of God ? Is there un- 
righteoufnefs with him who fays, " Curfed is every 
one that continueth not in all things which are writ- 
ten in the bbok of the, law to do them ?" But if 
this curfe is not only deferved, but incurred, if men 
are by nature children of wrath, the wonder is not 
that all men are not made partakers of fome mea- 
fure of grace, fufficient, if well improved, to pro- 
cure more grace, but that any fon of man was ever 
made a partaker of that grace which feems to be 
entirely excluded by the curfe. Is not God impar- 
tial in his revenging juflice ? Why then are not all 
men puniined as well as devils, according to their 
doings ? Say not, that the fin of fallen angels was 
worfe than the fin of man, and therefore they de- 
ferved more grievous punifhment. How do you 
know that their firft fin was as much worfe than 
yours as you fuppofe ? But let it be fuppofed a hun- 
dred times more criminal than the fin of man, im- 
partial juftice demands that the leiTer, as well as the 
greater criminal, mould be punimed according to 
his demerit. It is no lefs juft that he who deferves 
the laili mould be fcourged, than that he who de- 
ferves the gibbet fhould be hanged. Now we muft 
learn from the fentence of the law what the fin of 
man deferved. We deferved death no lefs than de- 
vils, although devils, who were our tempters, might 

deferve 



336 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

deferve a more horrible death. To fay, therefore, 
that God dealt hardly with fallen man, becaufe he 
has not been pleafed to bellow fome degree of grace 
upon him, is, in effect, to allege that he is not good 
becaufe he is righteous ; that he ufes us harihly be- 
caufe he will not deny himfelf ; that, if he is not 
altogether fuch as ourfelves, he is the lefs to be re- 
fpe&ed by us, becaufe he prefers his own dignity to 
the interefts of thofe criminals who have treated his 
laws with difdain. 

But how do you know that, if all men had re- 
ceived a fmall flock of grace, they would have im- 
proved it to fuch good purpofes as you allege ? We 
received in our father Adam a perfect ability for the 
doing of God's commandments, and reclitude of 
difpodtion for the proper improvement of our 
powers. What ufe did we make of our powers ? 
God made man upright, but he fought out many in- 
ventions. How do you know you could make a 
better ufe of a little flock of holinefs, oppofed by 
the mighty power of your natural corruption, than 
Adam did of the complete holinefs of his nature, 
unoppofed by any tendency to fin ? 

God hath bellowed upon us very precious gifts 
in the faculties and powers of our fouls. Many ta- 
lents are allotted to us, of which we might make 
great ufe for our advancement in undei (landing and 
virtue. But are there any of us that make fuch ufe 
as might be made of them ? if there are, have we 
not reafon to acknowledge that our improvement of 
our talents is no lefs a gift from God than the ta- 
lents themfelves ? ' 

God bellows fanctifying grace upon all 'true be- 
lievers, 



IS" THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 33T 

lievers, and they M keep themfelves that the wicked 
one toucheth them not." But whence is it that they 
keep themfelves ? Not by their own power, but by 
the Holy Ghoft which dwelleth in them. Leave 
them to themfelves, and the grace which they have 
received will die out, and leave them involved in de- 
struction and perdition. 

I might afk further of thofe who would have God 
to bellow a little flock of grace upon all men, that, 
by the good improvement of it, they might entitle 
themfelves to more, how they are to entitle them- 
felves to more by the improvement of what they 
have. There are only two conceivable ways of en- 
titling themfelves to more by the improvement of 
what they have — either by merit of fome kind in. 
what they do, or by a promife annexed to the per- 
formance of certain conditions. The former of 
thefe ways is hopelefs, for who can merit any thing 
at God's hand ? " Who hath firft given unto him, 
and it mall be recompenfed unto him again ?" The 
fecond is no lefs hopelefs ; for all the promifes 
made to finful men are yea and amen in Chrift. 
And there is no other poffible way of making them 
yea and amen, when the curfe of God muft ftand 
in full force to every firmer, till he is made a parta- 
ker of the falvation of Chrift. Is it poffible that 
the curfe of the law can bind us over to condemna- 
tion, and that we at the fame time mould be quali- 
fied to procure to ourfelves the favour of God, by 
the performance of certain conditions, however eafy 
in the performance ? Either the curfe or the pro- 
mife mult, in that cafe, be made of no effecl:. 

On the whole, it appears that if it is the will of 
Ff God 



S3S ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 



, 



God to extend grace to us, it mull be done, not by 
conferring fome degree of goodnefs to put us into a 
condition of trafficking with heaven for more. This 
cannot be done either to the glory of God or our 
own benefit j but he muft give us at once abundance 
of grace, and x>£ the gift of righteoufnefs, by deli- 
vering us from the power of darknefs, and tranfla- 
ting us into the kingdom of his dear Son. In Chrift 
Jefus we are created unto good works, not that our 
falvation may be fufpended upon our due improve- 
ment of the grace given us, but that, under the al- 
mighty influence of the Spirit of Chrift, we may 
walk forward in the ways of God, being allured 
that he who hath begun the work of grace in us, 
will keep us from falling, and at laft prefent us 
faultlefs before the prefence of his glory with ex- 
ceeding joy. I conclude with fome exhortations. 

1. Seek to obtain the knowledge of the law of 
God, that, in the light of it, you may know your 
natural corruption, your utter inability to do any 
good thing, or to obtain for yourfelves a title to the 
favour of God. If you are alive in your own con- 
ceit, it is becaufe you are without the law. When 
the commandment comes in its light and power, 
you will find that you are dead men, and as unfit to 
merit any thing from God, as a dead mad to work, 
Rom. vii. 9. 

2. Be willing to know and to acknowledge the 
worft concerning yourfelves. 4t A man's pride will 
bring him low." If you were as high as the morn- 
ing-ftar, your pride would bring you down to the 
lower parfs of the earth. We are already brought 
very low by our fins, why fhouid we bring oui feives - 

ftill 



IV TttE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 33$ 

ilill lower by our pride ? I will put jou in mind of 
two ways of fpeaking, as oppofite to one another as- 
that of the Pharifee and publican. The one is that 
of the hypocrite, fpoken of, Ifa. lviii. " Wherefore 
have we failed, fay they, and thou feeft not ? 
Wherefore have we afflicted our fouls, and thou ta- 
ked no knowledge ?** You fee their fentiments were 
the fame with yours, who think that, by your good 
works, or by the bed ill works in your power, you- 
may procure fome title to the favour of God. But 
did they obtain . any thing of the Lord ? Although 
they took delight in approaching, to God, he repel- 
led their advances with indignation* 

The other way of fpeaking of which I put you 
in mind, is that of the good centurion who faid to 
Jefus, " I am not worthy that thou fhouldft come 
under my roof." His Jewifh friends told Jefus that 
he was worthy of a-- cure to his fervant, but he 
reckoned himfelf not worthy that Jefus mould come 
under his roof. How different was his fpirit from 
theirs who think themfelves worthy that Jefus mould 
come into their hearts, and enrich them with all the 
bleffings of his grace ! 

3. Let all your hope be placed in the mercy of 
the Lord. " It is not of him that willeth, nor of 
him that runneth." What then ? Does the apoflle 
mean to drive us to defpair ? If we can do nothing 
that will give us the leaft fhadow of title to the fa- 
vour of God, is not our ftre'ngth and hope utterly- 
gone ? Your ftrength and hope is utterly perifhed 
from man, but not from the Lord. You can do no- 
thing to entitle yourfelves to the divine mercy; but 
the Lord hath mercy on whom he will have mercy. 

His 



340 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

His mercy is revealed to you, and you are called to 
come to his mercy- feat that you may obtain mercy* 
and find grace to help in the time of need, Matt. 
xix. 

4. Endeavour diligently to continue ufing the 
means of grace.. Say not, To what purpofe, fince 
we can do nothing to pleafe God ? For this very 
reafon you are to ufe them, becaufe you can do no- 
thing. A * With man, indeed, it is impoffible," fays 
our Lord, " but with God all things are poflible ;'* 
and where are you moft likely to meet with him,. 
and to obtain that mercy which you fo greatly need ? 
Is he not found in his own Hiftitutions ? There lie 
has been often found of thofe that never fought him, 
nor could feek him, in an acceptable manner, Eph» 
J. 13, A£b throughout. 

5. Be not fatisfied with the ufe of means, with- 
out obtaining that grace which you ought to feek in 
them. It is unwife for men to continue long in the 
place of the breaking forth of children. You never 
work the work of God, if you do not believe on 
him whom he hath fent. 

Do not think that your religious attainments will 
be a fecurity againft the wrath of God and the curfe 
of his law. Chrift is your only fecurity. What 
could it avail the lawyer fpoken of Mark xii. 31. 
that he was not far from the kingdom of God, if 
he was not tranflated into it ? What does it avail a. 
patient to have a profpedl: of his recovering his 
health, if that profpec^ is not realized? It may be 
very prejudicial to him, by making him carelefs 
about employing the phyncian. There is not falva- 
lion in any other but in. Chrift, and none fhall periflt 

more: 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 341 

more miferably than thofe who die within fight of 
this Saviour. 

We do not infult you when we call upon you to 
believe on Chrift, although you cannot believe on 
him except the Father draw you. We publifh in 
your ears the commandment of God, and it is cer- 
tainly a gracious commandment, not intended to en- 
fnare you, but to direct you in the path of life. 
Nor ought you to decline obedience to it, becaufe 
you cannot obey it by your own ftrength, when it 
is in the ftrength of God that we call you to obey 
it, fet In his name," fays God, "mall the Gentiles 
truft." Thoufands, millions of the Gentiles have 
already been made, by his grace, to truft in Chrift ; 
and he that gathers the outcafts of Ifrael with the 
Gentiles to the bleffed Shiloh, faith, k ' Yet will I 
gather others unto him befides thofe that are gather- 
ed unto him*" 

But perhaps you have frequently attempted in 
vain to take hold of God's covenant. Your moll 
ardent wifhes have been difappointed. Your hopes 
have deceived you. You have laboured for nought 
and in vain, and therefore no hope is left for you. 
You mull either lie down in forrow and defpair, or 
force away your thoughts from the wretchednefs of 
your condition and profpecls, by following after 
thofe ftrangers that you formerly loved, and feeking 
fuch relief from the fulfilling of worldly lufts as it 
can afford. 

God forbid that you mould fall off from your di- 
ligent attendance upon the means of grace, or relax 
in your care to improve them, or that, in defpair of 
obtaining the beft bieffings, you mould endeavour to 
- F f 3 find 



342 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

find the life of jour fouls in worldly or fenfual luffs* 
What could more effectually harden your fpirits, or 
provoke God to leave you to wander for ever in the 
way of your own hearts, till hopelefs perdition be- 
comes your portion ? What condition can be more 
dreadful than that of backftiders, who (hall be filled 
with their own way ? How tremendous are thefe 
words of our Lord Jefus Chrift ! — w When the evil 
fpirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry- 
places, feeking reft, and findeth none Then he faith,, 
I will return unto my houfe from whence I came 
out ; and when he is come, he findeth it empty,, 
fwept and gainimed. Then goeth he, and taketh 
with himfelf feven other fpirits more wicked than 
himfelf, and they come and dwell there ; and the 
laft ftate of that man is worfe than his firft. Even 
fo ihall it be alfo unto this wicked generation. w< 
That wicked generation enjoyed fueh means of 
grace as had,- never been enjoyed, the miniftry of 
John Baptift, who was greater than any that had 
been ever born of women before him, and the mi* 
niftry of Jefus himfelf. Many were willing for & 
feafon to rejoice in the light of John, and came and 
w T ere baptized of him in the river Jordan, confefiing 
their fins, and promifing to renounce them. Many- 
heard the words of Jefus likewife with joy, and 
prornifed to bring forth much fruit. But the im- 
preflions made upon them were tranfient. The de- 
vil was, in appearance, caft out of them, and they 
refufed to perform that fervice to him which they- 
had formerly done. But their religious affections 
decayed* They forgot that they were purged from 
their old fins^ and plunged themfelves deeper than 

ever 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 343 

ever in the horrible pit of iniquity. The Spirit, 
whom they had vexed and quenched, left them<, 
The devil recovered his former poffeflion, and car- 
ried them captive at his will. 

Far be it from us, you will fay, to entertain the 
thought of feeking that yeft in the gratifications of 
earthly or fenfual defires, which can be found only 
in Chrift.. But we find ourfelves in danger of fink- 
ing into defpondency from frequent difappointments. 
We have fought to enter into the way of life, but 
have not been able - T and why fhould we wait for 
the Lord any longer ? 

But why have fo many fought to enter in, and 
have not been able ? The great reafon why the 
Jews did not enter in, was becaufe they fought righ- 
teoufnefs, not by faith, but by the works of the 
law. * 6 Labour to enter into God's reft, that yoit 
fall not after the fame example of unbelief." One 
great reafon why you have not hitherto fought, by 
faith unfeigned, to enter into the way of life, was, 
that you entertained fecret hopes that you might at 
laft, by your own exertions, obtain what you fought. 
You were not perhaps fufficiently fenfible of the 
great truths we have been endeavouring to imprefs 
upon your minds, your utter inability either to work 
faith in yourfelves, or to do any thing to move the 
compaflion of God, or to merit his favour. Expe- 
rience of your inability to do or to merit any thing 
truly good, may fhut you up to the faith. Commit 
your way wholly unto the Lord. Look to Chrift 
for power to believe. Attend to his quickening 
voice. The words which he fpeaks are fpirit and 

life. 



S^ ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF'GRACE 

life. " Awake, thou that fleepeft, arife from thV 
dead, and Chrift mall give thee light." 

Have you believed through grace ? You fee to 
whom all the glory is to be afcribed. Magnify 
him who hath done great things for you ; and ne- 
ver forget that, not for your fakes, but for his own 
name's fake, he hath made a happy change in your 
condition. Let that grace which hath done wonders 
for you be your truft, your joy, your praife, Walk- 
humbly with your God, and fnew the truth of your 
faith, and the efficacy of the do&rine of free grace,- 
by all holy converfation and godlinefs. 

Finally, learn from this fubjecl: how needful it is- 
to join earned prayer to God with all- the means 
that you may ufe for the converfion and falvation of 
others. You may perfuade them to do many things, 
as Herod was perfuaded by John to do much, but 
you cannot perfuade any man into a date of falva- 
tion. Inftrucl, correct, admonifh your children in 
obedience to God ; but do thefe things under the 
perfuafioh that, if they are born again, it mull be 
not of the will of the flefh, nor of the will of man, 
but of God. Whatever you do for the advantage 
of any fouls will be of no ufe but to render them 
more inexcufable, unlefs the grace of God make it 
effectual ; for " it is not of him that willeth, nor 
of him that runneth, but of God that ftieweth mer- 
cy." 






DIS< 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 345 

DISCOURSE III. 

— But of God thatjheweth mercy, Rom. ix. 16. 

W hen we confine our views to ourfelves, we 
find nothing but forrow and vexation j but when we 
look to the blefTed God, we fee light and gladnefs. 
" It is not of him. that willeth, nor of him that run- 
neth." If we flop here, we fink into defpair. We 
are utterly loft. We can do nothing to relieve our- 
felves, or to. procure the favour of him who alone 
can help us. " But of God that flieweth mercy .'* 
The found of mercy is mufic to our ears, fweet as 
the fongs of angels. Let us rejoice and be glad. 
The mercy, not of a creature, but of God, is our 
hope and our exceeding joy. 

Of our own utter inability to help ourfelves, or 
to entitle ourfelves to favour from God, we have 
already heard. And if we have been humbled to 
the dull by the view of our own weaknefs and 
worthlefihefs, we will attend with tranfports of \oy 
to what the apoftle fays concerning the mercy of 
God. His words in this place teach us, that the 
free and fovereign mercy of God is the fpring of 
our converfion and falvation. 

More particularly, the following inftru&ions are 
comprehended in this text. 

1. That our falvation is to be afcribed to the 
mercy of God. 

2. That the mercy of God mines with a difUn» 
guifhed luftre in our falvation. 

3. That this mercy is free. 

4. That it is fovereign* 

ft. Tha 



S46 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

5. That our dependence on the mercy of God 
for our falvation is a capital doctrine of the Bible r 
taught by all the infpired writers, from Mofes to 
the lafl of them. 

1. That our falvation is to be afcribed to the 
mercy of God. 

This appears from the account which Scripture 
gives, and which experience too well confirms, of 
the mifery of our natural condition. We are fallen 
fo low, that nothing but divine power can raife us 
up ; and what but mercy in God, equal to his 
power, could have moved him to raife us up from 
that wretched condition which was the juft puniih- 
ment of our unprovoked rebellion againft his go- 
vernment ? We find the faints in Scripture frequent* 
ly afcribing to the mercy of God their deliverance 
from ficknefs, their prefervation in danger, their ex- 
altation from a low to a profperous condition. u I 
will praife thee, O Lord my God, with all my 
heart, and I will glorify thy name for evermore; 
for great is thy mercy towards me, and thou haft' 
delivered my foul from the lowed hell." The 
lower that hell was from which he was delivered, 
the more glorioufly was the mercy of God difplay- 
ed in his deliverance, and the more deeply was his- 
heart affected with gratitude. Now the loweft hell 
from which we can be delivered in this world, is- 
that of which the fame holy writer fpeaks when he 
fays, Pfal. cxxx. " Out of the depths have I cried: 
unto thee, O Lord. If thou, Lord, fhouidft mark 
iniquity, O Lord, who mall Hand ?" Out of that hell 
he was delivered, and calls upon Ifrael to hope in 
the Lord for the fame, or the like difplays of his 

grace o- 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 341 

grace. " Let Ifrael hope in the Lord ; for with the 
Lord there is mercy, and with him there is plente- 
ous redemption, and he (hall redeem Ifrael from all 
his iniquities," Pfal. lxxxvh 12, 13. cxxx. 

2. The mercy of God mines with a diftinguifhed 
luftre amongft the divine perfections in our falva- 
tion. 

All the revealed attributes of God fhine forth 
glorioufly in this bleffed work. He fheweth flrength 
with his arm in redeeming us from the worft of 
bondage. He is faithful and juft in forgiving our 
fins, and in cleaning us from all unrighteoufnefs. 
Mercy and truth meet together, righteoufnefs and 
peace kifs each other. We cannot therefore fuffi- 
ciently praiCe any of thefe divine perfections to 
which we are fo infinitely indebted, and ought to be 
cautious of derogating from any divine attribute its 
juft glories, to exalt another. Thefe glories per- 
fectly harmonize in the face of Chrift our Redeemer, 
and in the work of his Spirit. Yet this may be 
faid, that the work of our falvation was defigned 
above others for the difplay of God's pity to the 
miferable, and of his grace to the worthlefs. He 
difplayed the glory of his power, of his wifdom, of 
his incomparable excellency in holinefs and righte- 
oufnefs, when he created the heavens, and the earth, 
and their innumerable hofts. He difplayed the glo- 
ry of his mercy from the beginning, in his kind ad- 
mi niilration of Providence towards finful men. 
Yet the glory of thefe difplays of his mercy ap- 
pears chiefly in the work of falvation. Without a 
purpofe of laving fome of the loft race of Adam, 
there would have been no room for fuch wonders of 

patience, 



348 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

patience, and forbearance, and long-fufFering good- 
nefs as thefe, of which all generations have been 
the witnefles. It is mercy that fpares, for a time, 
thofe who m'uft perifti for ever, becaufe they are not 
led by the goodnefs of God to repentance. Bat 
hereby perceive we the divine excellency of the 
mercy of God, that he not only gives them fpace 
for repentance, and powerful motives, but actually 
bellows repentance unto life upon finners. If they 
were not recovered from the fnares of the devil by 
an Almighty arm, they would go on frowardly in 
the way of their hearts, till their condition become 
no lefs hopelefs than that of the abhorred enemy of 
God and men. 

What is it but the loving kindnefs and mercy of 
the Lord that engaged all his divine perfections to 
co-operate for the falvation of finfui men ? 

What can be a more delightful fubjecl: of our con- 
templation, than the mercy of God, as it mines forth 
in all thofe mighty works that have been done, and 
will be done for us in Chrift Jefus ? When we con- 
sider the irrefiftible operation of divine power, the 
flaming glories of his holinefs, the inflexibility of 
his juitice, we are filled with confternation if we 
forget that God is no lefs abundant in mercy than 
in righteoufnefs. But every perfection of the di- 
vine nature is a fountain of joy, when w T e view it in 
its co-operation with faving mercy. Then do we 
o;ive thanks at the remembrance of his holinefs. 
Then, at every contemplation of the divine excel- 
lency, we break forth into tranfports of joyful 
praife. "This God," fo great and glorious beyond all 
our bleffings and praifes, " is our God for ever and 

ever j 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 349 

ever ; he will be our guide unto death," and beyond 
death. "Glory to God in the higheft, peace on 
earth, and good will towards men." 

3. That mercy which faves us is free. 

We do not mean only that it is not merited, but 
likewife that it is exercifed towards us without the 
confideration of any works or conditions performed 
by us. If Adam had not finned, he would not have 
merited the favour of God, but he would have been 
entitled to it through works of righteoufnefs per- 
formed by himfelf, according to the tenor of that 
covenant which God made with him. u The man 
that doth thefe things mail live by them." But we 
"have the decifive authority of the apoftle for afiert- 
ing, that the language of the gofpel is quite different 
from that of the law, and that boafting, which is 
admitted by the one, is excluded by the other, Rom. 
ill* 27. x. 5, 6, 7,8. 

That the mercy which converts and faves us mufl 
be abfolutely free, is evident from the natural Mate 
of men. " We ourfelves were fometimes," he 
fays, " foolifh, difobedient, deceived, ferving divers 
lulls and pleafures, living in malice and envy, hate- 
ful, and hating one another; but after that, the love 
and kindnefs of God our Saviour towards men ap- 
peared, not by works of righteoufnefs which we 
have done, but according to his mercy he faved us, 
by the wafhing of regeneration, and the renewing 
of the Holy Ghofl." 

" Tell me," fays Paul, " ye that defire to be un- 
der the law, do ye not hear the law ?" The fame 
addrefs we may make to all that would fufpend our 
faith in the mercy of God upcn conditions which 
G g mull 



350 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

mull be performed by ourfelves. Thefe are the 
men who ftill defire to be under the law, though 
they would have the law modified to fait their con- 
dition and abilities. But what the law faid from 
the beginning, it ftill continues, and will continue 
to the end to fay, " Curfed is every one that conti- 
nued not in all things which are written in the 
book of the law to do them " We can do nothing 
to procure the favour of God, unlefs we could deli- 
ver ourfelves from the curfe. Whilft it lies upon 
us, we are curfed in all the work of our hands. 

Had we only one fin to anfwer for, it mud utter- 
ly preclude all hopes of recommending ourfelves to 
the mercy of God, till it is done away. The beft 
fervices that all the faints ever performed to God, 
from the days of Adam to this' hour, were they all 
.collected into one fum, would not be a ranfom for 
one finner, nor a price for the pardon of one fin- 
How abfurd then is it to imagine that we can, in 
any fenfe, entitle ourfelves to the converting grace 
of God, by any fervices done to him before our con- 
verfion, when it is certain that, even at our higheft 
attainments, we are continually adding to the num- 
ber of thefe fins, not one of which can be pardoned 
but for God's own name's fake through the blood 
of Chrift ? 

Do you need pardon ? This queftion, you will 
fay, is needlefs. Who does not need pardon ? Who 
does not confefs that he needs it ? But if you mud 
be glad to receive the pardon of your fins from God, 
you muft receive it as the gift of free mercy. This 
Paul plainly confiders as an incontrovertible truth, 
when he produces a test that fpeaks of the bleffed- 

nefs 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 351 

aefs of the pardoned iinner, as a proof of his doctrine 
of righteoufnefs without works : " Even as David 
defcribeth the blefie.dnefs of the man unto whom 
the Lord imputeth righteoufnefs without works." 
Where does David defcribe the bleflednefs of fuch 
a man ? Where, in any of his pfalms, or of his 
fpeeches recorded in the hiftory of his life, do we 
find a righteoufnefs without works fpoken of ? We 
no where find thefe exprefs words - y but we find 
words of the fame meaning, Pfal.xxxii. 1, 2. u Blef- 
fed is the man whofe iniquity is forgiven, and whofe 
fin is covered. Bleffed is the man to whom the 
Lord will not impute fin." If any of our works or 
attainments could procure Divine mercy to blot out 
any of our trefpaffes, the apofile's argument would 
be inconclufive. Our fins would be pardoned, and 
we would partake of the blefiednefs that accompa- 
nies, is involved in pardon, or follows it, without 
that kind of righteoufnefs of which the apoflle 
fpeaks. 

*<• When I pafTed by thee, and looked upon thee," 
faid God to his ancient people, H behold thy time 
was the time of love,, and I fpread my fkirt over 
thee, and covered thy nakednefs." In what fitua- 
tion had he found this objecl: of his love ? Was 
there any thing amiable and attractive to engage 
him to take her into fuch a near relation to him- 
felf ? Far from it. Every thing in her appearance 
was forbidding and repulfive. He faw'her lying 
polluted in her blood, and he faid unto her when me 
was in her blood, Live. Then waftied he her with 
water, and anointed her with oil, and- made her 
oomely with his comelinefs put upon her. Was not 

this 



352 , ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

this free and undeferved love ? Such is the love of 
God to all whom, he faves. His loving kindnefs 
and his pity are not more merited by fmners of the 
Gentiles, than by the nation of the Jews. Jews 
and Gentiles were all equally under fin before God. 
He hath concluded all under fin, that the falvati 
of all might clearly appear to be the fruit of that 
love, which finds no caufe for itfelf in its objects. 
We love, becaufe we find fomething lovely in the 
perfons whom we love. God loves becaufe he 
2oves r and becaufe he is love. 

4. Sovereignty is one of the glories of that grace 
by which we are converted and faved. If it is free, 
it mull be fovereign. If there is no caufe in men 
why they mould partake of fuch precious bleffings, 
they muft be difpenfed by the Mod High, accord- 
ing to his own will. He gives to fome what he 
does not give to others, not for any reafon to be 
found in thofe from whom it is withheld, or to whom 
it is given, but according to the good pleafure of his 

will. 

When we fay that the reafons are not to be found 
any more in thofe from whom grace is withheld 
than in thofe to whom it is given, do not miftake 
our meaning, as if we had faid that God does not 
find fumcient reafon in finful men to deny them his 
grace. We have only faid, that the reafon of the 
diftinction made by the divine fovereignty is to be 
found only in God himfelf. He certainly finds fuf- 
ficient reafon in themfelves to withhold his grace 
from thofe on whom it is not beftowed. They are 
all fmners, and deferve no favour. Some of them 
are ftubborn and outrageous offenders, who have, 

by 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 353 

by their prefumptuous rebellions, provoked God to 
harden and blind them by his awful judgments. 
But let it be remembered, that thefe caufes of con- 
demnation are to be found with thofe on whom God 
confers his grace, no lefs than on thofe from whom 
it is withheld ; or, if they have not proceeded to 
the fame lengths of w T ickednefs with fome others, 
they were, at leaft, guilty of thofe rebellions which 
might have juftly provoked God to inflict the fame 
fpiritual judgments upon them, which render the 
condition of their fellowvfinners hopelefs. This ap- 
pears plain from what Paul fays of the condition of 
the Gentiks, in the firit chapter of his epiftle to the 
Romans. There he tells us, that becaufe they wor- 
ihipped and ferved the creature more than the Cre- 
ator, they were given up to vile affections and to a 
reprobate mind. Was it not juft that all thefe men 
ihould be left to perifh forever, who had brought 
upon themfelves fuch awful tokens of the divine 
difpleafure r Yet millions of them were faved by 
the grace of God, whilft others were left to eat the 
fruit of their own doings.. 

The fovereignty of the grace of God in faving- 
men, is by many denied, and even thofe who will 
not venture to deny what appears fo plain from 
Scripture and experience, can fcareely be reconciled 
to the thoughts of it. That God mould fave fome 
great tinners, and leave others in a ftate of perdition, 
who have been lefs guilty, appears to them ftrange 
and unaccountable. I would afk fuch perfons, as 
the apoille does, " Who hath known the mind of 
the Lord? or, who hath been his counfellor ? 
or, who hath firft given unto the Lord, and it 
G g 3 fliall 



354 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

fliall be recompenfed to him again ?" Elihu's que£T 
tion is no lefs pertinent, and no lefs unanfwerable : 
" Who hath given him a charge over the earth, or 
who hath difpofed the whole world ? He that pre- 
tends to inftrucl God, let him anfwer it." 

God certainly knows better than we can direct 
him, how to manage the affairs both of the prefent 
world and the next ; when, and how, and to whom 
to difpenfe the bleffings of fime and eternity. His 
understanding is infinite, his righteoufnefs is invaria- 
ble, and his mercy is above the heavens. 

You will not deny that God gives riches, and 
honours, and long life to whom he pleafes, and that 
he often withholds thefe bleffings from better men 
than thofe on whom he confers them. Will you 
therefore quarrel with him ? " Woe to him that 
itriveth with his Maker. Let the potfherds drive 
with the potfherds of the earth. Shall the thing 
formed fay to him that formed it, Why haft thou 
made me thus ? or thy work, He hath no hands ?" 

Do you think that God ought co have converted 
and faved all men ? But do not all men deferve con- 
demnation? The Scripture, which cannot be broken, 
fays, that judgment is come upon all men to con- 
demnation. Is this condemnation unrighteoufnefs ? 
Then it is not judgment, but the hand of unrelent- 
ing tyranny that is come upon us to condemnation. 
But if the condemnation is juft, what are we to 
think of thofe who fay that it would not be right to 
execute the awful fentence upon any one of the cri- 
minals,- or upon all of them without exception ? If 
fo, then it is by pure grace that any of them are 
exempted ; and, if it is pure grace that exempts 

them, 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 355 

them, it muft have a good right to felect its ob- 
je£ts. 

Thofe who diflike the doctrine of the fovereignty 
of divine grace, are no lefs enemies to the law than 
to the gofpel. If they were fenfible of the juftice 
of the law in its penal fanclion, their mouths would 
be (topped from reflections upon the Lawgiver, in 
executing his fentence againft the leafl guilty of our 
race. 

Did not Chrift, the Son of God, die for the re- 
demption of all that mould be faved ? Surely you 
will not deny this truth. You will not allege that' 
any of the guilty race of Adam can obtain eternal 
life in any other way but through the mediation' of 
Jefus Chrift. But if you fay that God is under 
any obligations to fpare any finner, and allow at 
the fame time the neceffity of the death of Chrifl 
for our falvation, you fay in effect that God could 
not be righteous without fending his Son into the 
world to die for men. There is no falvation but 
through his death ; and if it would be inconfiftent 
with the juftice or goodnefs of God to doom any 
finner to death, it would have been no lefs unwor- 
thy of him to have withheld any of thofe means 
that were neceflary to preferve them from death. 
What reafon then have we to admire the lbve of* 
God in the death of Chrift ! We do not afcribe 
much praife to any man for doing an a£tion, which 
he muft have been wanting in common equity not 
to have done. 

Now, if the falvation of any man is a work o£ 
fuch wonderful grace, that a divinely excellent righ- 
teoufnefs was neceflary to render it confiftent with 

the 



356 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

the juftice of God, there can be nothing inconnftent* 
with juftice in configning him to perdition, if he is 
not- a partaker of that righteoufnefs ; and who will 
fay that he is pofieued of any claim to that righte- 
oufnefs which can be obtained only in the way of 
gift from heaven ? Is the blood of ChrifV fo cheap 
in your eyes, that men may purchafe it by their 
own works, even before they can do any thing well 
pleating to God £ 

If the falvation of Chrift, and if the righteoufnefs 
by which it was obtained, muft be the gifts of a 
bounty as large as the heart of God himfelf, we 
muft leave it to the Mod High to confer them on 
whom he pleafes* Neither riches, nor birth, nor 
genius, nor human virtues and accomplifhinents, can 
merit his favour ;, and therefore it would be daring 
prefumption to think that he wrongs his creatures 
when he pays no refpecl to them in the diftribution 
of his beft bleffings.- 

Times alter. Learn to repeat the creed and the 
commandments. Come to church at the - ftated 
times. Pay the tithes of your grounds, or of your 
gains, to the clergy. If you do thefe, and perhaps 
a few other things of equal importance, you need 
not be afraid to appear at the judgment feat. You 
may boldly claim heaven, and fay, 4 Lord, give me 
the inheritance, for I have deferved it.' Such was 
once the doctrine that ufually founded from the pul- 
pits of Chriftendom. We now ridicule, or we de- 
plore the blindnefs of our forefathers ; but are we 
better than they, if we imagine that God ought to 
beftow his fpecial favours upon honeft and virtuous 
men, upon thofe who are kind to the poor in their 

neighbourhood, 






IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 357 

neighbourhood, upon dutiful children, or upon any 
clafs of men that behave better than their neigh- 
bours, although the love of God is not in them, ra- 
ther than upon perfons who have never diftinguifh- 
ed themfelves by any good quality. They may de- 
ferve an eafier hell, but furely they do not deferve 
heaven. They have done lefs to provoke God to 
anger than fome others have done, but they have 
done nothing to entitle themfelves to his favour. 
When there is a rebellion in the land, the enemies 
of the king may be of very different characters. 
Some of them may behave with great fidelity to 
their party, with great humanity to their diftreffed 
neighbours. They may acquire high reputation by 
fhining qualities and by amiable virtues. But is the 
king bound to pardon their treafons againft himfelf, 
becaufe they have behaved well to their equals or 
inferiors ? Why then mould we imagine that the 
eternal king is under any obligation to pardon his 
enemies, becaufe they have deferved well of their 
country or of their friends ? He is infinite in mercy t 
but his mercy is not the reward of human merit. 
It is abfolutely free ; and, that it may appear to be 
free, it is regulated in its exercife, not by confidera- 
tions taken from finful creatures, but by the unerr- 
ing wifdom and abfolute will of him whom we 
have all offended. 

It is the glory of God to be the fovereign dif- 
penfer of his own bleffings, and above all, of thofe 
bell bleffings which are the fruits of fpecial love. 
When Mofes earneltly requefted the Lord to fhew 
him his glory, the Lord faid unto him, " I will 
make all my goodnefs pafs before thee, and 1 will 

'proclaim 






358 Otf THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will 
be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will 
fhew mercy on whom I will fhew mercy." From 
this anfwer to the petition of Mofes, it appears that 
God places his glory in his goodnefs, and in the 
fovereignty of his goodnefs. He will do juftice to 
all his creatures, without refpecl: of perfons, but he 
will exercife his mercy and loving kindnefs to whom 
he pleafes. What glory could he receive from all 
the immenfe benefactions he bellows upon his crea- 
tures, if he did nothing but what he is under obli- 
gation to do ? We do not reckon ourfelves very 
highly indebted to thofe benefactors, who confer no- 
favours upon us but what they could not, without 
difhonour, refufe. 

The fovereignty of mercy is no lefs comfortable 
to us than glorious to God. It will not afford much 
comfort to men who think that their (ins are not 
great or many, or who think that God ought to 
pardon all finners without exception - T but it will be 
the comfort and joy of all who have believed 
through grace, becaufe they will fee reafon to af- 
cribe to it their falvation. And not only believers, 
but all who have been made duly fenfible of the 
great evil of their fins, will find reafon to rejoice, 
not only that there is mercy and plenteous redemp- 
tion with God, but like wife that this mercy be- 
flows its bleffing upon men, not for any thing in 
themfelves, but according to the good pleafure of 
God's goodnefs.. 

Whence is it, but from the fovereignty of divine 
mercy, that God loved our world rather than fallen 
angels, and gave his only begotten Son,, that whom- 
ever 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 359 

ever believeth on him mould not periih ? Some tell 
us that the fin of fallen angels was greater than the 
fin of men ? How do they know this ? Afk them 
what was the peculkr nature, and what were the 
aggravations of the fin of angels, that they may 
compare their offence with our firfl fin in Adam, 
which we know to be an horrible breach of God's 
covenant, blackened by many highly aggravating 
circumftances. They will confefs that they know 
nothing about the fin of the angels, except that 
pride was a prominent circumftance, if not the whole 
of it. But there was intolerable pride in our firft 
fin alio. Now, till men can give us more light 
about the firii fin of devils, they fpeak without cer- 
tain knowledge when they fay that our fin was lefs 
inexcufabie than theirs. It ought likewife to be 
confidered, that falvation, through faith, is revealed 
and offered to us, after we have brought ourfelves 
under the guilt of innumerable offences, many of 
them of fuch a nature as devils were never capable 
of committing. For one fin they were caft out of 
heaven, and referved in everlafting chains, under 
darknefs, to the judgment of the great day. Never 
did they reject a Saviour, and infult the grace of 
God calling them to repentance, as we have done a 
thoufand times. Are we not exceedingly ungrateful, 
if we are difpleafed with that fovereignty which has 
made fuch a blefied difference between us and the 
angels that kept not their primitive integrity ? Let 
none but devils blafpheme that juft power which 
God claims and exercifes, of doing what he will 
with his own. 

We enjoy many bleffings of a diftinguiihing na- 
ture. 



360 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

ture. What is the reafon why God gives us thefe 
revelations of his mercy, with which fo few other 
nations are favoured ? Is it becaufe we deferve bet- 
ter at God's hand than the people of China or Ja- 
pan ? They may be chargeable with vices that ap- 
pear to human judgment more atrocious than ours ; 
but, in the eftimation of God, unbelief and impeni- 
tence under the difpenfation of the gofpel, are more 
criminal than the fins of Sodom and Gomorrah. To 
what then, but to fovereign mercy, are we to afcribe 
our happy privileges ? 

Why are we preferved from thofe vices which 
difgrace many in our own land ? Is it the fuperior 
goodnefs of our natures, or our wife improvement 
of our advantages, that has hitherto kept us from 
thofe crying iniquities, by which the condition of 
many of our fellow -finners is rendered almoft def- 
perate ? Is it not the fame God who kept Abime- 
lech from adultery, that has preferved us from the 
word of crimes ? 

Are we not convinced that we have been left to 
commit fins in . a far greater number, and attended 
with far blacker aggravations, than thoufands and 
millions of perfons already configned to the burning 
lake. If God is not to difpenfe his mercy accord- 
ing to his own fovereign rule, but according to re- 
gulations prefcribed to him by his guilty creatures, 
no rule will appear more reafonable to us than this, 
that flnners whofe crimes are feweft, or leaft inex- 
eufable, fhould partake of his mercy, and that none 
of the chief of finners iliould be fufFered to efcape. 
According to this rule, Paul, the blafphemer and 
perfecutor, would have been fhut out of heaven, 

and 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 361 

and his place would have been occupied by fome of 
thofe miferable creatures, who muft groan for ever 
under the intolerable wrath of the Almighty. Sal- 
vation, according to this principle, ought to be be- 
llowed upon none of thofe hearers of the gofpel who 
have long continued impenitent j but, by fome of 
thofe methods which Divine wifdom and power can 
^eafily devife and execute, thofe Gentiles that have 
never poured any contempt upon the Redeemer, 
ought to be put in pofieffion of thofe bleffings of 
which many of us have rendered ourlelves fo un- 
worthy. 

Another rule which fome would prefcribe to the 
great Sovereign, is, that thofe who do what they 
can in a natural ftate, ought to be made partakers 
of his grace, and carelefs or profane miners rejected*. 
But what will any man do, in a natural ftate, to 
pleafe God ? They may do much from the princi- 
ple of felf-love, but they do nothing from a princi- 
ple of love to God. And whence is it that they do 
any thing, even from a regard to their own intereft, 
that indicates a regard to the law or gofpel of God? 
What is it that makes fome perfons ferious, whilfl 
others are profane; that difpofes fome to think 
with deep concern about their own falvation, whilfl 
others walk on inconiiderately in the way of their 
own hearts ? fs it not the providence of God, and 
the operation of his Spirit accompanying his word, 
that makes the difference between one unregenerate 
man and another ? God owes nothing to the belt of 
them ; for whatever they do, do they it not for 
themielves ? Do they fail, and pray, and think of 
their ways for God, even for God? It is true they 
H h give 



S62 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

give that attention which others do not, to the word 
of God, and the word of God may take hold of 
their hearts whilft they are hearing it, or thinking 
of it. But it was fovereign mercy that difpofed 
them to attend to the means of grace, and it is the 
fame fovereign mercy that gives them efficacy u] 
their hearts. 

Men may raife a thoufand objections againft God's 
prerogative of difpenfing his mercy according to his 
own will. For my part, I am firmly perfuaded that 
all my hope mull: reft upon the richnefs and fove- 
reignty of the mercy of God in Chrift Jefus. I am 
perfuaded that millions already in hell were far leis 
eriminal, when they left the world, than I have been* 
I am iennble that I can never make myfelf a fitter 
fubjecT: of mercy than I am at this moment, and that 
I mutt therefore follow to the pit thofe miferable 
wretches that are groaning under the wrath of God 
in the place of damnation, unlefs I am plucked as a 
brand out of the burning. A doctrine fo necefTary 
to my hope and peace, as the fovereignty of divine 
mercy, I hope never to renounce. 

5. The fovereignty of divine mercy in our falva- 
tion, is a doctrine taught through every part of the 
iScripture. Paul refers, in our text, to the words of 
Mofes, quoted in the foregoing verfe, as a proof of 
what he fays on this fubje£L He quotes other texts 
from Mofes, from Ifaiah, from David, from Hofea, 
from Joel, to (hew that God would not confine his 
mercy to the Jews, but make the Gentiles fharers 
in his falvation, whilft the body of the Ifraelitifti 
nation was rejected. 

Doctrines clearly taught in any one part of the 

Bible 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 363 

Bible are firmly to be believed. Bo&rines fpread 
through every part of the Old and New Teftament 
are capital articles of our" religion, which ought to 
be the fubjeft of our frequent coniideration. When 
God fpeaks, not only once or twice, but many 
times, his repetitions of his own truths are not vain. 
What he caufes frequently to come under our view, 
mull merit a proportional mare of our regard. 

On the whole, we learn where our hope of falva- 
tion muft be placed. It muft not be placed in any 
degree, or in any manner, upon ourfelves, but upon 
that mercy which finds its reafons for its benefac- 
tions in itfelf. " Not for your fakes do I this, 
faith the Lord, be it known unto you." We en- 
deavour to defraud the Lord of the glory which he 
feeks in our falvation, if we pretend to claim it as a 
debt due to ourfelves. 

That you may not be left without a fure ground 
of hope in that mercy which God exercifes accord- 
ing to his own will, he difcovers to you the abun- 
dance of his grace in his word, and in that gracious 
covenant eftablilhed in Ghrift Jefus, of which the 
gofpel is the revelation. " God fo loved the world, 
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever 
believeth in him may not perilh, but have everlaft- 
iag life." When Naomi reflected that Boaz. was her 
near kinfman, me advifed her daughter-in-law to 
caft herfelf at his feet, and requeft to be taken into 
a marriage relation with him, becaufe he was her 
near kinfman. Ruth followed the advice, and did 
not meet with a difappointment. Have we not far 
greater encouragement to caft ourfelves at the feet 
of him who voluntarily became our near kinfman, 

that 






364 ON THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE 

that in him God might mew forth the exceeding 
riches of his grace to all that mould believe in his 
name ? 

When we are overawed with a fenfe of God's 
abfolute dominion, and of the difplays which he 
gives of it in the adminiltration of grace, let us 
comfort ourfelves with the thoughts of that infinite 
condefcenfion, by which he gives us a claim upon 
that mercy which he delights to glorify in our fal« 
vation. In his mercy he hath promifed and fworn,,, 
that all might have ftrong confolation who flee for 
refuge to lay hold on the life fet before them. 

When we hope in the mercy of God revealed ii* 
his word, the fovereignty of that mercy greatly pro- 
motes our confolation as well as our humility. 
Whilft we dare not- advance any claims founded 
upon worth in ourfelves, the moft formidable object 
tions againft faith and hope are effectually removed,. 
We are defpicable creatures, unworthy of the notice 
of him to whom it is a condefcenfion tp behold the, 
cherubim and feraphim ; but " he hath chofen the 
moft defpifed things of. the world, and the things 
that are not, to bring to nought the things that are." 
We are great finners. When we are deeply con- 
vinced of fin, we will be difpofed to think that no 
.fins are like^our IJns. We will fee that what we 
call our righteoufneffes, ftand in need of pardoning 
mercy as well as our .fins. Where fhall we find 
relief under fuch thoughts of our extreme depravi- 
ty, but in the fovereignty of divine compaffion ? If 
thofe finners only are to be faved, whofe iniquities 
are lead inexcufable, what will become of me, fays 
the awakened finner ? Whatever excufes others 

ma j 



IN THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS. 365 

may offer, my mouth mull be for ever flopped. 
Unlefs the mercy of God be fovereignly free, my 
ftrength and my hope is perifhed, not only from 
myfelf, but from the Lord. I muft be for ever call 
out of his fight. 

But (ince I know that God will have mercy on' 
whom he will have mercy, I will look towards his 
holy temple. He faves great finners that he may 
glorify his great name, and therefore I will hope in 
him. He feeks opportunities to fhew the fovereign- 
ty of his grace, and where can he find a better op- 
portunity for {hewing forth all the mining glories of 
his boundlefs mercy and his faving power ? PfaK 
«Sjdvii* 11. Pfal. xxv. 1 1 , 



Uh 3 MS-* 



DISCOURSES 



ON THE 



MEANS TO BE USED 



FOR THE 



CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 



DISCOURSES, Sec 



DISCOURSE X. 

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and 
one convert him, let him know that he which con- 
merteth the finner from the error of his way Jhall 
fave a foul from death, and Jhall hide a multitude 
offns. James v. 19, 20. 

" F 

Ji hy word is truth," fays our Lord. 
Every part of the doctrine of God refpecting either 
thofe things which we ought to believe concerning 
God, or refpecting our duty, is truth. We err from 
the truth, when we depart from the iimplicity of 
the faith that is in Chrift, or when our hearts and 
pra£tice are unconformable to that law which is the 
rule of our duty. 

There are errors from the truth which are not in- 
confiftent with the life of the foul. Such was the 
error in judgment of thofe men who did not know, 
nor were perfuaded in the firft days of the gofpel, 
that nothing was unclean of itfelf. The bell men 
have a law in their members endeavouring conti- 
nually to bring them into captivity. Yet they have- 
reafon to thank God, through Jefus Chrift, when 
with their minds they ferve the law of God, al- 
though with the flefh they ferve the law of fin. 

The errors from the truth, of which the apoftle 

James 



370 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

James fpeaks in this place, are pernicious errors, 
that hold men under the guilt of fin, and exclude 
them from eternal life; for "'he who converts a 
finner from thefe errors, fhall fave a foul from deaths 
and (hall hide a multitude of fins." 

There are errors in the mind no lefs fatal to men 
than grofs fins in pra&ice. If we feck falvation by 
the works of the law, and not by the faith of Chrill 
without works, Chrift is of no eifecl: to us, we are 
fallen from grace. Beware therefore of thinking 
that errors in judgment may be tolerated when the 
life is good. How can the life be good, if we are 
not renewed in the fpirit of our minds ? 

Beware of faying, that all men are finners, and 
therefore we fhall have peace, although fome parts- 
of our conduft are reprehenfible. It is very true 
that fin dwells in the beft men y but it is no lefs 
true, that no good man lives in fin. Tf you mean, 
that you may be in a ftate of falvation, although 
there have been, and may Hill be. things reprehenfi- 
ble in your condu6r y after the mod earneft endea- 
vours by the Spirit to mortify fin, you fay right. 
But if you mean, that you can enjoy peace with 
God whilft you (hare your favourite fins, however 
little they may appear, you are fatally miilaken. 
" Whofoever," fays Chrilt, " fhall break one of the- 
leafl of my commandments, fhall be called the lead 
in the kingdom of heaven ;" i. e. in the church, not 
in its heavenly, but in its earthly flate. In that 
place which we ordinarily call heaven, they can be 
neither great nor little ; for nothing that defileth, or 
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, can enter 
into the gates of the celeitial city. 

If 



the -conversion of our neighbours. 371 

If errors in judgment or practice are fo danger- 
ous, with what vigilance ought we to watch, with 
what earneftnefs to pray, that we may be preferved 
from the paths of the deflroyer ? 

Nor are we to confine our concern to ourfelves, 
or to thofe of our own houfehold. If we fee a man 
-drawn unto death, or ready to be (lain, and hide our 
eyes from his danger, or make frivolous excufes for 
withholding our help, the Searcher of hearts will 
take a fevere account of our conduct. But the death 
of the body is a momentary evil. The fecond death 
is infinitely more dreadful than the firft. If we 
can do any thing that may have a tendency to pre- 
vent this dreadful death, what awful punimment 
may we expe£l from God if we fuffer opportuni- 
ties for this beneficent purpofe to pafs unimpro- 
ved ? 

But it is the buiinefs of the clergyman, fome will 
fay, to labour for the converfion of finners, and let 
every man abide in the calling wherewith he is call- 
ed of God. True ; it is the work of minifters to 
preach the faving truths, and to call loudly upon 
linners to be reconciled to God. Every man ought 
to abide in the calling wherewith he is called of 
God. I do not defire hufbandmen and mechanics to 
take upon them the work of public preachers ; but 
can nothing be done for finners to reclaim them 
frpm the evil of their ways, except what rrunifters 
are called to do in the exercife of their office ? You 
have a double calling in which you ought to walk 
with God. You have a calling in which you ought 
diligentlv to employ y ourfelves, that you may fup- 
port yourfelves and your families ; that you may 

have 



3T2 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

have fotnething to give to your poor neighbours £ 
and that, by your induftry and uprightnefs, you may 
adorn your profeflion. But are you not alfo parta- 
kers of an heavenly calling ? ]f you fay that you 
are not, you fay that you are not Chriftians. 
** Walk therefore worthy of this vocation where- 
with you are called," as the apoftle Paul enjoins, 
Eph.iv. 1. Among other exhortations included in 
this general injunction, mutual edification is recom- 
mended, Eph.iv. 15,-16. 

The apoftle James, fpeaking of the erring Chri- 
ftian, does not fay, If any preacher of the gofpel 
convert him, but, If any of you convert him, he 
jfhall fave a foul from death. 

I will fay fomething, 

I. Of the method by which ordinary Chriftians 
may convert a firmer from the error of his ways, 

II. Of the great benefit of converting a linner 
from thefe errors. 

I. Of the method by which ordinary Chriftians 
may convert a linner from the error of his ways. 

1. Ordinary Chriftians may have fome influence 
In rectifying the erroneous opinions of thofe who 
depart from the truth. Yet they ought to behave 
wifely in their attempts to reclaim men from errors, 
left they harden thofe whom they wifh to reclaim. 
Many of thofe who err from the truth are very full 
of felf- conceit, borne of them are pofTeiTed of abi- 
lities fuperior to many ferious Chriftians. If a good 
man fhould enter into a debate with fuch perfons, 
he may find his talents unequal to his zeal, and then 
his good will be evil fpoken of. 

Thofe 



TtfE CONVERSION OF OtJR NEIGHBOURS. 373 

Thofe Who depart from the truth generally pro- 
'feffed in their neighbourhood, fenfible that they are 
expofing themfelves to oppofition, will take care to 
be provided with as plaufible reafonings as they can 
invent or collect for felf-defence, and may thus puz- 
zle and confound a plain Chriflian, who perhaps 
could fcarcely fufpecl: that any thing, with the flight- 
eft appearance of reafon, could be produced againft 
thofe truths which he r ound plainly taught in the 
lively oracles. 

Others who depart from . the truth, make up in 
loquacity what they want in fenfe. Although they 
can fay little in their own defence that has any ap- 
pearance of argument, they can pour out a torrent 
of words, and put to filence thofe who are much 
their fuperiors in fenfe as well as piety. 

A Chriftian of ordinary endowments will, for the 
moll part, a£l wifely in avoiding religious diiputes 
with men of fuperior abilities, or with men who 
*have . an high opinion of themfelves, and who take 
more pleafure in victory than truth. Paul teaches 
us to mark them who caufe divifions and offences 
^contrary to the doctrines which we have learned, 
and to avoid them. He requires thofe who mini- 
ster in holy things, to furnifh themfelves with a fuf. 
iicient degree of knowledge, to be able, by found 
•doctrine, to convince gainfayers. Other members 
of the church may poffefs good abilities, and thejr 
ought to ufe them for the advantage of others, efpe- 
cially of the members of the fame body. But the 
great inequality of natural and acquired endowments 
amongft the members of the church, makes it evi- 
I i dent 



374 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

dent that the great Difpenfer of gifts has defigned 
them for different fervices. 

Let it not however be fuppofed,that Chriftians of 
the meaneft clafs in abilities are not bound to con- 
tend earneftly for the faith once delivered to the 
faints. We all ought, with one fpirit and with one 
mind, to ftrive for the faith of the gofpel, and to op» 
pofe new and ftrange doctrines, which tend to the 
fubverfion of fouls. 

You muft not, under pretence of inability to de- 
fend the truth, betray it, by holding your peace 
when it is oppofed or ridiculed. The truths of 
chief importance to the fouls of men are fo plainly 
taught in Scripture, that every ferious Chriflian 
'tnay be eafily furniflied with an anfwer to thofe 
who oppofe them. Although you ought not to run 
about the country to queftion men about their faith, 
and to rectify their miftakes, you- are bound to give 
a reafon of the hope that is in you with meeknefs 
and fear, 1 Pet. iii. 15. 

You cannot perhaps anfwer one of many objec- 
tions that meii of corrupt minds may fugged, to 
difcredit the truth. But this is not always neceffa- 
ry. Plauilble arguments may be, advanced to (hew 
that men are to expect falvation only, or in part, 
through their own works ; but one or two plain 
texts of Scripture are fumcient to fet afide a thou- 
fand of fuch arguments If your opponent mould 
ever produce arguments pretended to be taken from 
the Scripture itfelf, you can tell him that fpiritual 
things are to be compared with fpiritual, and that 
the law, whatever be the defign of the giving of it, 
cannot be againfl the promifes of God. 

If 






THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 315" 

If any of your acquaintances have turned afide 
from the truth, it is your duty to feek opportuni- 
ties for convincing them of their miftake. Although 
they mould be equal, or even fuperior to you in abi- 
lities, you are not, on that account, to defpair of fuc- 
cefs, unlefs they are fcomers who cannot find the 
truth, even when they feek it, or pretend to feek it, 
becaufe their pride hath blinded their eyes. Thofe 
who have truth on their lide, efpecially thofe truths 
which are mod' clearly taught in the Bible, have 
this great advantage, that the goodnefs of their 
caufe furniflies them with clear and ftrong argu- 
ments. The arguments by which error is fupport* 
ed, are found, on impartial difcufuon, to want foli- 
>dity and force. A weak Chriftian, with the armour 
of righteoufnefs on his right hand and left, may 
Bring to the ground's gigantic adverfary armed only 
with ftraw or rotten wood.- 

It is reported by an ancient hiflbrian, that when 
at a famous afiembly of the doctors of the church, 
fome felf- conceited philofophers had put to filence 
the learned divines, by fophiftical arguments againfl 
the truth, an old man, of no learning, rofe up, and,- 
repeating the moft important articles of Chriftian 
doctrine in plain language, aiked whether they af- 
fented to them or not. Their reply was, that when 
arguments of another kind were ufed again ft them, 
they would repelreafonings by reafonings ; but that 
they had nothing to oppofe to the plain declarations 
of Scripture, and were compelled to yield to the 
truth. 

2i If a man errs from the truth in hU practice, 

fuccefsfui 



3 76 ON THE ME AM S TO BE USED FOR 

fuccefsful endeavours may be ufed to turn him from 
the error of his ways. 

Here, too, caution is requinte. When we hear 
that a man behaves ill, we are not authorized to go 
immediately and call him to account for his con- 
dud,, left we give him reafon to fay, on better 
grounds, than the contentious- Ifraelite to Mofes, 
** Man, who made thee a judge over me?" Many 
reports are falsehoods, many are mifreprefentationsr 
If we believe them without examining whether they 
are true, we ourfelves err from the truth. We are 
chargeable with a fault, perhaps^ as bad as that 
which we impute to our neighbours. What anfwer 
will we be able to give him if he mould fay to us, 
* Phyfician, heal thyfelf. Pluck the beam out of. 
thine own eye, before thou pretend to pluck the 
mote out of thy brother's eye.' 

There are, however, many whofe behaviour is fo 
well known to be fuch as, does not become the-gof- 
pel of Ghrift, that it would be a ridiculous afFeclatioa 
of charity to entertain a favourable opinion of them. 
How mall we behave towards fuch perfons ? That 
we ought to mourn for them is plain. Paul coulct* 
not write to the Philippians, without blotting his' pa- 
per with tears, for thofe men that were enemies to 
the crofs of Chrift, whofe end was deftru&ion, whofe 
God was their belly, whofe glory was. their fhame, 
who minded earthly things. It is no lefs plain that 
they are entitled to the benefit of our prayers. I 
we are to pray for the fick, that they may be pre- 
ferved from death, ought we not to pray for iinners, 
that they may be redeemed from their iniquities, 
which threaten them with the fecond death ? 

We 



H 






XIIK CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 311 

We ought to bear teitimony, by our own beha- 
viour, againit their conduct, by the diligent practice 
of thofe virtues which they neglect, and by ke^p- 
iny; at the utmoft dittance from thofe evils winch 
they pra£tife< If they- are habitual fwearers, -ja. wis 
be careful to fhew an habitual veneration xor the 
holy name of God. If they are drunkarls, let us 
be on our guard agamft the fnares of intemperance. 
The children of light muft have no fellowfliip with 
the unfruitful works of darknefs, but rather reprove 
them. "They that forfake the law praife the 
wicked, but they that fear the law contend with < 
them." 

But the fe observations are n;>t fufficient to ex- 
plain the apoftle's meaning, when he fpeaks of the 
converfion of a {inner by one of his brethren. All 
true Chriftians will mourn, will pray for offenders, 
w r ili teftify againit them by their practice, and may 
by thofe means have fome influence in turning them 
from the error of their ways. God may hear their 
prayer for their unhappy neighbours. Sinners may 
be afhamed when they fee how much their conduct 
is abhorred, and may, by Dtvine mercy, be made 
fenfible how much happier than themfelves thofe 
perfons are who fear God, and preferve their cha- 
racters and comforts, by keeping the paths of up- 
rightnefs. But there are other means like wife that 
may be ufed with a happy effect by thofe who are 
qualified to ufe them, or who enjoy favourable op- 
portunities to deal with them. 

1. Inftruction may be given them fitted to roufe 
their attention to their danger. 

It is common with iinners to think that they fhall 
I i 3 have 



37S, ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

% ave peace in the end. Some of them are infenfi- 

of the evil of their own conduct ; others of j 

"hink, that however bad their conduct is, they 

ch time before them to repent, and then all 

\ nfequences of their conduct will be pre- 

vVhv r ee your friends or your neighbours 

trufting dreadful uncertainty, put them in 

mind tha. ^s on earth are but a fhadow, that 

to confide u ntinuance of our life for another 

day, is to s£i re fooliflily than he who would 

build his bouk he fand. Remind them, thar 

nothing is lefs 'lfted than mens own hearts^ 

cfpecially when t tmifes are at variance with 

their inclinations. iiy do men defer their repen- 

tance ? Becaufe repentance is unpleafant to them. 
How then can their promifes of repentance deferve 
more credit than thofe of a highway-man to reitore 
your purfe ? 

The grace of God affords many a pretence to 
hold fafl their fins, and refufe to let them go. Re- 
mind your erring friends, that there is juftice with 
God as well as grace j that juftice is a terrible aven- 
ger of the indignities done to the grace of God ; and 
that there is not a furer indication of malignity and 
obflinacy in fin, than to turn the grace of God into 
licentioufnefs. 

Many think that all are finners like themfelves, 
and that the belt men in the world cannot be ex- 
empted from the common reproach. Tell them 
that he that is born of God cannot commit fin, and 
that there is a difference as real between the beha- 
viour of a faint and a firmer, as between that of the 

profligate 






THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 319' 

profligate fpendthrift and the virtuous citizen, be- 
tween the harlot and the refpeclable matron. God's 
children have all of them their fpots. But iinners 
have fpots that are not the ipots of- his children. 

Thus, in your occauonal converfe with your err- 
ing friends, you mould take every opportunity that 
prefents itfelf of fuggefting and inculcating thofe 
truths that are molt likely to pierce into their minds, 
and to make them feniible of the danger of their 
conduct. Such truths may meet their eyes in the 
Bible, or their ears in the public preaching of the 
word, but pafs unobferved in the multitude of other 
docirines that leave no imprenion. You may, by 
fetting them before their view in the way moll like- 
ly to imprefs them, be made the inltrument of a fa- 
lutary conviction. 

When the prophet Nathan defired to make David 
feniible of his crimes againft Uriah, he represented 
them in the form of a parable, in which he placed 
before his eyes an image of his own conduct. The 
fame end may be gained, by putting our finning 
friends in mind of thofe paiTages of Scripture-hiftory 
in which they may fee the unhappy effects of their 
own vices. Speak of the leprofy of Gehazi to the 
covetous man ; of the fire of Sodom and Gomorrah 
to the lewd ; of the man that was ftoned for la- 
thering Hicks on the Sabbath to the profaners of the 
day of the Lord ; of the fate of Ananias and Sap- 
phira to the liar % of Lot's incelt to the drunkard ; 
of the miferable end of Herod Agrippa to the proud; 
of the deftru&ion of Jerufalem to the defpifers of 
Chrift and the gofpel j of the blindnefs of Elymas, 
the forcerer, to the oppoiers of the truth ; of the 

deftru&ion 



3S0 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOK' 

deftruction of Aaron's two oldeft fons to the radr 
profaners of divine inftitutions ;-of the death of the 
JewiGi prophet, fent to Jeroboam, to the men who 
can confidently venture upon {ins that they may 
think excufable. Thus you may raife a fenfe of 
guilt and danger in their confciences, without find- 
ing it neceffary to fay, as Nathan did to David, 
" Thou art the man." Their own confciences may 
fupply your lack of fervice. This indirect mode of 
reproof, will, on many occafions, be more ufeful 
than that kind^of reproof which is undifgirifed, and' 
which too often irritates thofe whom it was intend- 
ed to reform. We ought to conftder the temper of 
our neighbours, to perform to them offices of love. 
Thofe who will not bear reproof from others, may 
be made their own reprovers. If you can find 
means to engage their own confciences to become 
preachers of repentance, they will not fo eafily free 
themfelves from thefe monitors as Heiod freed him- 
felf from the reproofs of John Baptiit. Confcience 
may be held a prifoner, and yet fpeak in a voice of 
thunder. 

2. Direct reproof ought to be adminiifered, when 
that milder reproof which is conveyed in the form 
of inttruclion is without effect There are fome in- 
deed whom it is vain to reprove, becaufe they are 
(corners ; and " he that reproveth * fcorner, only 
getteth to himfelf a blot." The fcorner heareth not 
rebuke, and mull be left to God, who will take his 
own time to fpeak to him in language which miift 
be heard. But when there is any probability that 
we may do good by rebuke, it is a painful but a ne- 
ceffary work of chanty to make the attempt. 

*« Thou 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 381 

"Thou ihalt not hate thy brother in thine heart," 
fays the Scripture, " thou (halt in any wife rebuke 
thy brother, and not fuffer fin upon him." He will 
feel great pain, but pain miift often be felt for the 
preservation of life, or for the prefervation of the 
foul. He may be angry ; but when his pafBon has 
fubfided, he will fee that he has reafon to be angry 
only with himfelf; 

We ought indeed to give him no caufe to be angry. 
We mult beware of rudenefs, even in reproving fin. 
A bitter pill ought to be fweetened with love. 
Some deferve reproof for the reproofs they give. 
They fin in reproving fin, . becaufe they follow not 
the apoftolic rule of rebuking their offending bro- 
ther " in the fpirit of meeknefs, confidering them- 
felves left they alfo be tempted." Much caution is 
neceffary in a reprover, that he may not, by too 
much gentlenefs, render his reproofs ufelefs, or, by 
too much feverity, make them, more than ufelefs. 

Paul will teach you by his example how fin ought 
to be reproved. He does not fpare the offenders, 
nor conceal any thing proper for imprefling their 
hearts with a deep fenfe of their guilt ; and yet he 
addreffes them in fuch a way, as to convince them 
that love dictated every word of his fharpeft re- 
bukes. The effects of them were fuch as might 
have been expected* A happy reformation was ef- 
fected by them in the church of Corinth, 2 Cor. 
vii. 8, — 11, He hoped in the Lord that his re- 
proofs to the churches of Galatia would be attend- 
ed with the fame happy effects, and we have no rea- 
fon to think that he was .. difappointed. "As -an 

ear-ring. 



3S2 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, fo is 
a wife reprover upon an obedient ear." 

3. Encouragements drawn from the gofpel, are 
powerful means of convernon, to be ufed by private 
Chriftians as well as minifters. 

When men think that there is little hope of par- 
don or amendment, they are difcouraged from ufing 
the appointed means of grace. They will not come 
with much earneftnefs, and ftill lefs with boldnefs, 
to the throne of grace for mercy and grace, if they" 
imagine that there is no grace nor fuccour with God 
for them. It is therefore highly proper to put them 
in mind of the immenfity of the divine goodnefs, 
and of the wonderful difcoveries he hath given of 
his grace in the doctrines and promifes of his word, 
and in the manifold falvations he hath wrought in 
the earth. 

Sinners often doubt whether mercy can be ex- 
tended to themf elves, on this ground, that they find' 
themfelves unfleady in their efforts for reformation. 
One day they will relapfe into their former follies, 
and thus forfeit all thofe favours which may be 
reafonably expe&ed by thofe who are ftedfaft in- 
God's covenant. But remind your erring friends, 
that they muft expect fanclification as well as par- 
don from the grace of God; The fame God who 
is gracious to pardon our iniquities, is mighty to 
fubdue them* and hath authorized us to depend on 
his bleffed Son as our fanclification as well as our 
righteoufnefs. 

Sinners are afraid to turn into the ways of right- 
eoufnefs, left they mould find them unpleafant. It 
is. difficult to perfuade them, . that delights and joys 

are 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 383 

are to be found in the ways of God, infinitely fupe- 
rior to thofe pleafures that may be found in the ways 
of fin. Tell them of that grace of God which 
paneth all understanding ; of thofe joys of the Spi- 
rit, which are the portion of God's people ; of thofe 
comforts of love, which mingle themfelves with the 
moil painful exercifes of felf-denial ; of thofe fatis- 
faclions that are found attached to the performance 
of duty. AiTure them, that finners are their own 
greateft enemies, and that the felf-denial with which 
the devil infpires his followers, is pernicious ; but 
the felf-denial which Chrift requires, is no lefs ne- 
ceiTary, and beneficial, and pleafant in its confe- 
guences, than the reftraints which the phyfician im- 
pofes on his patient, or thofe which an affe&ionate 
father impoies on his beloved children. 

If you talk of nothing but hell- fire to finners, 
you may affright them, and perhaps perfuade then* 
for the prefent to renrain themfelves from fome of 
their gratifications of lull ; but whilft they are un- 
acquainted with the pleafures of religion, the power 
of their corruptions, though repreffed, will not be 
•weakened. Perhaps they may be ftrengthened to 
inch a degree as to break down aU the barriers of 
confcience. .Who can cheerfully engage in any bu- 
fmefs without hope of fuccefs and advantage ? Or, 
if a man under the prefiure of necefiity engage in 
sny hopelefs enterprife, he will foon defift. How- 
ever aeceffary religion may be apprehended to be, 
if there is no expectation of acceptance with God, 
or fuccefs in his fervice, it is natural for men to fay, 
u There is no hope, for we have loved Grangers, and 
after them will we go." But hope animates \he 

foul 



384 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

foul to run in the way of God's commandments. 
We fee good encouragement to be ftedfaft, immove- 
able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, 
when we are aflured that our labour fliali not be in 
vain in the Lord. 

4. Earneft exhortations may, on many oecafions, 
be ufeful for the converuon of finners. If Chriftians 
are to exhort one another daily whilft it is called 
to-day, why mould we not exhort our wicked 
neighbours to have companion on their own fouls ? 
They are rational creatures. They are defirous of 
their own happinefs. Who knows what efficacy 
God may give to thofe motives by which we urge 
them to turn to the Lord? 

Why mould you allege the unconquerable power 
of their lufts, and the inefficacy of a thoufand ex- 
hortations that have been already addrefTed to them? 
Scripture is full, from beginning to end, of warn- 
ings and exhortations to finners. Are all thofe di- 
vinely gracious addreffes of God to men ufelefs ? 
Certainly finners cannot, by their bell exertions-, 
turn themfelves to the Lord. But when the Lord 
turns them to himfelf, he deals with them as with 
rational creature's. He enlightens their minds by 
the doctrines, and powerfully perfuades their hearts 
by the arguments of his word. 

There are arguments of very different kinds ufed 
in the word of God, to perfuade men. We can 
never be at a lofs for powerful means of perfuafion, 
if we are not utterly ignorant of the Scriptures. It 
teaches us to reafon with finners, from the awful 
and amiable excellencies of that God with whom 
we have to do ; from the grace and blood of our 

; Lord 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 385 

'Lord Jefus Chrift ; from the terrors of the laft 
judgment and of the infernal regions ; from the in- 
effable joys of heaven, the firft fruits of which may 
be tailed on this earth ; from the vanity of the 
world ; from the uncertainty and brevity of life ; 
from trie mercies and judgments of the Lord. How 
itrangely corrupted muft their hearts be, on which 
motives of fuch magnitude have no influence ! 

We mud not think, that any of the motives to re- 
pentance which the Scripture ufes, are ufelefs, al- 
though they are of "very unequal importance. The 
weaker motives may prevail when itronger ones 
have no force, and thofe motives which want power 
to make a perfon truly religious, may be of ufe to 
reftrain the rage of fin, and to excite perfons to the 
ufe of thofe means of religion which niay bring 
them under the power of the weightier motives to 
religion. Solomon often makes ufe of motives to 
the fear of God, taken from the confederation of 
our prefent welfare in body and fortune, as well as 
%i our fouls. A man can never be truly religious, 
who has nothing higher in view than a regard to 
his own eflate, or reputation, or life. But he well 
knew that there are multitudes who will be moved 
by fuch confiderations, whilft they have little regard 
to the welfare of their fouls, and dill lefs to the 
glory or the love of God. And he knew likewife, 
that men might be drawn by a regard to their own 
pre/ent intereft, to think of thofe truths that might 
infpire them with better views and purer defires. 

Following the example of the infpired writers, 
urge your friends to forfake their fins by thofe ar- 
guments that are mofl likely to make an impreffion 
K k upon 



3S6 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

upon their fouls. Daniel urged Nebuchadnezzar 
to break off his fins by repentance, if fo be it might 
be a lengthening of his tranquillity. The lengthen- 
ing of his tranquillity was nothing to "the powers of 
the world to .come." But Nebuchadnezzar would 
probably have laughed at the mention of a future 
itate, fuch as the Scripture reveals, although he 
would be >.unw 7 illing to have the tranquillity and 
Xplendour of his prefent condition exchanged for the 
3ife of an ox. 

When you find that y r our friends put off the 
thoughts of the future world to a future period of 
their lives, they may dread the lofs of character, of 
health, of employment in their bufinefs. If you 
can, by fuch confideraticns, perfuade them to think 
fer'oufly of their conduct, other confiderations may 
Jind admittance. They will read the Bible, they 
will go to the fanetuary.. They will read and hear 
•of infinitely greater evils, in their {ins, than thofe 
which formerly employed their thoughts. They 
will hear and read of the wonderful price of our 
ialvation, and of the love of Chrift which paiTeth 
knowledge ; and who knows what powerful effects 
thefe truths may have on hearts that formerly were 
\mconcerned about any thing that did not gratify 
their earthly minds ? u The entrance of God's 
word giveth light, it giveth understanding unto the 
frmp;e." 

5. Practical teftimonies of diffatisfaction with die 
conduct of finners, may contribute to their conver- 
fion. 

Our Lord tells you, that if you cannot gain a 
brother who has offended you, by your own remon- 

flrances, 



TH# CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 381 

fi-rances, you ought to take two or three others with 
you. If he will not hear them, you are to tell the 
affair to the church; and, if he will not hear the 
church, he is to be reputed as a heathen man and a 
publican. Thus you may effect, by the help o£ 
brethren, or by the ordinances of the church, what 
you cannot aecomplifh by your own exertions. The ; 
church will never profperwhilft the difcipline plain- 
ly prefcribed by the Head of the- chuich is neglect- 
ed. 

«' If any man that is called a brother," fays Paul, 
** be a fornicator, or idolater, or drunkard, or a re- 
viler, or an extortioner, you m-uft not eat with him." 
For what reafon ? That he may be amamed of his 
conduct. He knows- that hell is the place prepared 
for fuch enemies of the crofs of Chrift, and yet per-* 
fids in the broad way that leads to deftruclion. Is 
it then to be expected that Iliame will operate upon 
him? Perhaps it may. The (name to which he 
finds himfelf fubjeeted may check his career, and 
lea.d him to think of the prefent and eternal mifery 
which he is bringing upon himfelf. Some finners 
think, that although they are at this time travelling 
to deftruction, they will flop fhort before they ar» 
rive at the end of their journey, and then all the 
mifchiefs with which they are threatened will be 
prevented. But when they find that they mull fuf- 
fer painful confequences for the prefent from their 
godlefs courfes, they will acknowledge that the coll 
of finning muft, in every point of view, exceed" 1 the 
pleafures or the profit. - 

In a like direction of the apoflle to the ThelTa- 
Ionian believers, he fuggefts a very needful advice 

about • 



388 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR' 

about the treatment of brethren from whom we 
muft withdraw. We are not to treat all thofe per- 
sons as heathen men and publicans, who cannot be 
prefently reclaimed from the. error of their ways. 
" If any man obey not our word by this epiftle, 
note that man, and have no fellowfhip with him, that 
he may be aihamed. Yet count him not as an ene- 
my, but admonifh him as a brother." Let us learn 
to difcover the moftunrelenting hatred; to all fin,. 
and at the fame time fervent charity to finners. 

Whilft we ufe all proper means , for reclaiming 
dinners, we miuft not truft to them. Alas! the 
power of fin is. far fuperior to the power of men. 
Have we not too often felt the power of fin in our* 
felves to be unconquerable, but by divine ftrength *■■ 
With all other means for reforming our brethren,, 
let us join fervent prayer for their fuccefs. Paul, 
with all his depth of knowledge, and Apollos, with: 
all his fervent eloquence, were nothing, and could 
do nothing without God. Do we imagine that our 
powers of perfuafion are fufficient to turn finners 
from the error of their ways unto the Lord ? We 
may as well hope, by the powers of perfuafion, to 
raife the dead from their graves, that they may en- 
joy the pleafures, and do the works of life. 

If you defire to be happily inflrumental in turn- 
ing finners from the error- of their ways, it is like- 
wife neceffary for you to walk circumfpeclly. A. 
few blemifnes, or one great blemiih i.i your conducl, 
will deeply affe£t your ufefulnefs, EccL x. l. . Matt, 
v. 16. 

it s plain that fon>e o? tho r e me?ns of reform- 
ing oueudtrs, which have been fpecified, cannot 

with, 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 38& 

with propriety, or hope of fuceefs, be employed by 
eX'-ery perfon who is grieved to fee the evils that 
abound around him. We do not enjoy opportuni- 
ties of focial converfe with every finner in the coun- 
try, fide. Should we reprove thofe who are fcarcely 
known to us by face, we are more likely to make 
our good be evil fpoken of, than to reclaim them. 
We do not find that Paul, (whofe zeal was ever 
burning like a fire, but was directed by prudence), 
ever went to the palace of Nero, or to the palaces 
of the minifters of his wickednefs, to reprove them. 
He feized opportunities, which God gave him, for 
the converfion of finners ; but he did not call his 
pearls before fwine. 

Yet, as a fervent zeal ought to burn in all our 
hearts, we ought not to think that we are blamelefs, 
if we do not, what all may do, to promote the con- 
verfion of finners. We are foldiers called to .fight 
again (I the devil and his followers, under the ban- 
ners of the Captain of falvation. ' 

With this view, we ought to hold forth the word 
of life by a public profeftion of the truth. Many, 
it is to be feared, will fhut their eyes againft the 
light mining around them, but others will be indu- 
ced to walk in the light of the Lord. The light of 
truth makes the evil of fin manifeft to the con- 
fcience~5 of men. When the truth of the gofpel is 
exhibited by a public profeffion, the hatefulnefs of 
many vices pra£lifed among the heathen is acknow- 
ledged and felt, even by thofe who receive not the 
love of the truth that they may be faved, and the 
entrance of it will give undei (landing to thofe whofe 
£ k 3 hearts 



39(3 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOlC 

hearts God is pleafed to open, that they may attend 
to their own prefent and eternal welfare. 

We ought likewife to drive againft fin, by (hew- 
ing our abhorrence of it in our praclice. In oar 
public profeflion of the truth of the Scripture, we 
ought to bear teftimony againft oppofite errors, es- 
pecially againft thofe which are moft prevalent in - 
our own age. In our praclice, we ought to mani- 
feft our averfion to thofe fins that are moft common, 
efpecially when their malignity or their dangerous 
confequences are generally overlooked. When lux- 
ury is the reigning evil, we ought to praclife the 
ftricleft temperance. When drunkennefs is the 
prevailing iniquity, we mull not look upon the wine 
when it is red. When fornication or adultery are 
fhamelefsly praclifed by the faftiionable part of 
mankind, they muft not be once named amongft 
faints ; and everything ought carefully to be avoid- 
ed, which may lead us by infenfible degrees to fuch 
enormities, or which may lefifen our deteftation of 
vices fo difplealing to God, and fo pernicious to 
men. 

We likewife contribute to the reclaiming of iin- 
ners, by concurring in the fupport of thofe public 
means of inftruclion which God hath appointed for 
the converfion of finners, and in every feafonable 
and needful teftimony againft prevailing evils. 
When fins and errors abound, let us make it appa- 
rent 'that we are en the Lord's fide. The followers 
of the Lamb muft not be afhamed of him, or of 
his words, at any time,' and leaft of all w T hen the 
generation with which they live is adulterous and 
finful. "Come out from amongft them, lavs the 

Lord, 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOUR'S. 391 

Lord, and be ye feparate ; touch not the unclean 
thing, and I will receive you." 

We ought, finally, to be fellow-helpers to the 
truth, by ftrengthening the hands of thofe who are 
fet for the defence of the gofpel, and whofe office 
requires them to reprove, rebuke and admonifh fin- 
ners, The Corinthian Chriftians, in the days of 
Paul, were highly blameable becaufe they did not 
fup port his character again!! his enemies. He found 
it abfolutely necefTary to fpeak like a fool, in com- 
mending himfelf, becaufe they did not commend 
him, nor vindicate him from the afperiions of the 
falfe apoftles. 

The believers at Corinth deferved much blame 
on another account. ' Church difcipline was ne- 
glected amongft them. This was not merely the 
fault of the rulers of the church. All the mem- 
bers of it ought to have teftified their zeal, by urg- 
ing thofe rulers to do their duty, and by concurring 
with them in executing the prefcribed difcipline, 
1 Cor. v. Thofe who are appointed to bear rule in 
the church, muft judge and pronounce fentence. 
But they often need excitation from the people to 
their duty, and ought to have their countenance and 
help in the performance of it ; for Chriftians are 
under indifpenfable obligations to ft rive together for 
the faith of the gofpel and the purity of the church. 

We cannot calculate the happy effects that may 
refult from our combined endeavours to fupport the 
caufe of truth, and to oppofe fin. ft will be known 
at the laft day how much finners have contributed 
to extend the devil's influence in the world, and how 
much faints have contributed, or ufed faithful en- 
deavours 



392 ' ON' THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

deavours to contribute, to the overthrow of the de- 
vil's kingdom. This at prefent we know, that if 
any among us do err from the truth, and one con- 
vert him, he hath faved a foul from death^ and hides 
a multitude of fins. 



discourse it: 

II. -Wfc. are now to confider the motives ui 
by the apoftle for* exciting us to labour in the c< 
ver'fion of thofe that err from the truth ■: " Let h 
know, that he which converteth the finner from tf 
error of his way, feall fave a foul from death, 
mall hide a multitude of fins." 

W* are firfl taught in thefe words, that death is 
the fruit of fin, and will be the portion of fuch as 
turn afide after crooked ways.-- " He that- erreth 
from, the way of underftanding," lays Solomon, 
"'■(hall remain in the congregation of the dead." So- 
lomon knew that good, as well as bad men, die out 
of this world. It muit therefore be a kind of death 
peculiar to the wicked of which he fpeaks. Wick- 
ed men are already dead in trefpafi.es and fins, and 
they are waited for of the lake of fire and brim- 
ilone, which is the fecond death. 

Did we fee any of our friends living on poi- 
foned dainties, would not our bowels be turned 
within us at the fight of "fuch pernicious folly? 
Would we not intreat them with tears to have pity 
on themfelves ? Why then do we feel fo little pity 
for fouls perifhing by the deceitfulnefs of fin ? Do 
•we really believe that fin is fo fatal in its confe- 
rences 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 393 

quences as the Scripture reprefents it to be ? If we 
do not, where is our faith? If we do, where are the 
fruits of our faith ? 

2. Salvation from this death is attainable. In 
this the condition of wicked men differs from that 
of fallen angels, that "God hath fo loved the world, 
as to give his only begotten Son, that whofoever be- 
lieveth on him fhould not perifh, but have everlaft- 
ing life." We ought not therefore to defpair of the 
falvation of the worft of our neighbours. Although 
they may carry the devil's mark on their forehead, 
we do not certainly know that their names are not 
written in the Lamb's book of life. Certain it is*, 
that they are called by the gofpel to partake of the 
falvation of Chrift. God ftretches out his hand all 
day long to the difobedient and gainfaying. Shall 
we think it too great a trouble for ourfelves, or too 
great an exteniion of charity, to be followers of 
God? 

3. Our exertions, if they have the defired effecl: 
on the falvation of our neighbours, will be profita- 
ble beyond all our conception. 

" He mall fave a foul from death." How glori- 
ous were Paul and Peter in the eyes of men, when 
one of them raifed up Dorcas, and the other Euty- 
chus, from death. But they were far more glorious 
in the eyes of the wife, and of God himfelf, when 
they were the happy inflruments of raifmg up thofe 
who were dead "in fins, to a life of holinefs. The 
work indeed was God's j for who but God can raife 
the dead ? Yet he put honour and glory inexpreffi- 
ble upon his faithful fervants who preached thofe 
truths by which men were, faved. " Although ye 

have 



t$f ON THE MEANS TO HE USEB'FOK: 

have many teachers," fays Paul, u yet have ye "nor 
many fathers, for in Jefus Chrift have 1 begotten 
you through the gofpel." I would far rather have 
been able to fpeak fuch bold. words, than to call 
myfelf the Lord of an hundred nations. Far ra- 
ther would I be the fpiritual father of one precious 
foul, than poiTefs all the riche&.af Solomon or Crce- 
fus. 

There are many that fpend-their whole lives in 
heaping up wealth, although they know not who 
fhall poiTefs thefe acquincions after them, and whe- 
ther they fhall be wife men or fools, whether they 
fhall be the better or the worfe for what is left to 
them. But w the" fruit -of the righteous is a tree of 
life, and he that winneth fouls is wife." What ac- 
count (hall be made in the great day of all our pain-- 
ful acquiiitions of earthly treafiire ? Bat a fingle 
drop of cold water given to, a difciple in the name 
of a difciple, mall in no wife lofe its reward. What 
then will be the happinefs, in that awful day, of 
thofe who have not only walked in the way of life, . 
but likewife induced their fsllo winners to leave 
the paths of deftruction ! 

46 He fhall fave a foul from death,". — from a 
death ten thoufand times more dreadful than all the 
deaths or miferies that can be fuftained in this world. 
What are feventy years to eternity ? What are the 
pains that accompany the death of the body, to thofe 
eternal burnings which the breath of the Lord, like 
a- ft ream of brimftone, doth kindle ? 

He fball fave not only the body, but the foul from 
death. The whole perfon is often meant by the 
foul, and the body, as vvell as the foul, is a jpartaker 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 3S5 

of the bleffings of falvation. What fools are thofe 
men who prefer their bodies to their fouls? What 
will become of their bodies in the day when their 
fouls leave them, and in the day when their fouls 
are reunited to them ? If you love your bodies, let 
your chief attention be bellowed upon your fouls. 
If you love your friends, let your love be directed 
efpecially to their fouls, with which their bodies 
mull participate in endlefs joy or woe. 

When a foul is faved from death, it partakes of a 
new and an everla'fting life. And what can be more 
delightful to us than the hope of feeing our friends 
with ourfelves in heaven, efpecially thofe friends to 
whofe falvation we have been happily inftrumental? 
•Paul often thought, with tranfport, of thofe who 
were to be his joy and crown in the day of the Lord 
jeius Chrifr. ; and he could have even wimed him- 
-felf accurfed from Chrifl for the fake of his unbe- 
lieving kinfmen, that they might partake of the 
bleffednefs cf being with Chrifl. We cannot hope 
to equal Paul in the number of his converts ; but if 
we have a few, or but one, for a joy and crown of 
rejoicing in the day of the Lord, we will not envy 
his fuperior glory. 

That perfect love which reigns on high will make 
the hapfpinefs of the bleffed the happinefs of every 
one. If we love our neighbours as ourfelves, their 
happinefs is ours. Yet we may reafonably con- 
clude, that thofe who have turned others to rigbte- 
oufnefs will, above all their companions, enjoy that 
happinefs which is the fruit, under the divine blef- 
fing, of their own prayers and labours. 

If fuch is the advantage of converting a finner 

from 



396 ON THE MEAN13 TO BE USED FOR 

from the error of his ways, what excufe can we 
make for ourfelves, if we neglect any of thofe means 
that may be conducive to an end fo infinitely impor- 
tant to ourfelves, and to thofe whom we are bound 
to love as ourfelves ? The merchant cannot eafily 
forgive himfelf, if he neglecl the opportunity of 
gain which might enrich himfelf for life, and his 
family after him. But what is the gaining of all 
the world to the gaining of one foul ? Chrifl knew 
the value of fouls. He died not as a fool dieth. If 
a ikilful jeweller mould give his whole fortune for 
one diamond, you would not furely think that it is 
of fmall value. What mult be the value of thofe 
fouls for which Chrifl; gave not all the fubflance of 
his houfe, not the heaven and the earth, although 
the heaven and the earth are his, but his own pre- 
cious blood ! We forget the price of our redemp- 
tion, we pour contempt upon him who loved us-, 
and wafned us from our fins in his own blood, when 
v/e are not animated with a ftrong detire to promote 
the falvation of fouls. 

u He mall fave a foul from death, and {hall hide 
r& multitude of fins." What is the meaning of 
thefe lafl words ? Who can forgive fins, but God 
only ? or what could procure the remiffion of fins 
but the blood of Chrifl ? We muft not, therefore, 
proudly imagine that we can procure the remiffion 
either of our own fins, or of the fins of our fellow- 
tranfgrefTors, by any thing that we can do. If we 
had faved as many fouls as Paul, and died as many 
deaths for Chrifl, and laboured more abundantly 
than all the apoflles, neither our labours^ nor our 
fufFerings, nor the grateful prayers of our converts, 

could 



THE CONVERSION t)F OUR NEIGHBOURS. 39? 

could cover one of our tranfgrefiions from the view 
of our Judge, or entitle us to his favour. After all 
that Paul did and fuffered for Chrift, and for the 
fouls of men, he expected his own falvation purely 
from the exceeding riches of the grace of God, 
through the redemption that is in Chrift Jefus. 

But a man may be faid to hide fins in the fame 
fenfe wherein he may be faid to fave fouls from 
death, for there is an infeparable connection between, 
the pardon of fins, by which they are hidden from 
the face of God as an avenging judge, and the fal- 
vation of the foul from death. If the leaft fin re- 
mains marked by God, it muft prove fatal to the 
iinner. One fin brought eternal mifery upon the 
angels that fell. One fin of one man brought judge- 
ment to condemnation upon the whole race of Adam. 
*' BlefTed is the man whofe iniquity is forgiven, and 
whofe fin is covered." Curfed is the man whofe 
iniquity is not forgiven, nor his fin covered. He is 
under a fentence of death, and the wrath of God 
abideth on him. 

He that turns a finner from the error of his ways, 
turns him to God through faith in Chrift Jefus, and 
by faith we receive the remifiion of fins, A&sxiii. 
38, 39. If we take this view of the meaning of 
the pafiage, we find a fimilar expreflion, Dan.xii. 3. 
u They that turn many to righteoufnefs," or, as the 
expreiiion may be rendered more literally, they that 
make many righteous, or they that juftify many. 
It is the glorious prerogative of the God of all grace 
to juftify the ungodly. But thofe minifters or Chri- 
ftians by whom men believe, are blelTed inftruments 
in their j unification, 

LI What 



.398 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

What powerful motives are contained in thofe 
words, to enforce the duty of labouring for the con- 
yerfion of our neighbours who have wandered out of 
the wayof underftanding ! 

They are (till in their fins* and confequently un- 
der the curfe of God, the dominion of Satan, and 
the power of their lulls. Alas! how pitiable is 
this condition ! How much worfe is our fin than 
all the fevers, confumptions, racks, and inftruments 
of deitruclion, that were ever feen or felt by men ! 
The whole creation groans and travels together in 
pain, under the weight of that fin which brought death 
into the world. When men. are wandering in the 
way of deft-ruction, they lie under the guilt not of 
one fin only, but of many iniquities. We are but 
very young finners if we haye not reafon to fay, 
6< Our iniquities are more than the hairs of our 
head." If by one offence judgment came upon all 
men to condemnation, what is the condition of thofe 
who are chargeable with ten thocfand provocations, 
many of them dreadfully aggravated, all of them 
binding fatter thofe chains of the curfe by which the 
guilty are referved to the day of wrath, and perdi- 
tion of ungodly men ? 

Now, every one who believes in Jefus is com- 
pletely freed from all tranfgrefiions. However nu- 
merous, and however aggravated they have been, 
there is no more condemnation to him. God can- 
not be juft without juftifying the finner that believes 
in JefuSj and he whom God bleffes with this glori- 
ous privilege, is for ever delivered from his Judge. 
It is God, the judge of all, that juftifies him ; who 
is he that condemns him ? Happy is the man who 

turns 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 390 

tarns the eyes of his fellow- finners to that Saviour, 
through whom all his fins are forgiven, all his dif- 
eafes healed, and his foal, formerly loaded with 
many curfes, is redeemed from 'going down to de- 
fir action. 

The following directions may be ufeful to thofe 
who wifh to reclaim their neighbours from fin, 

I. Be careful of your own perfonal religion. 
Some feamen, in their friendly endeavours to fave 
their ihip wrecked fellow-mortals, have by rafh, 
though well meant exertions, loft their own lives. 
When you affociate with Tinners, that you may have 
the opportunity of ufing fit means for their conver- 
iion, beware left they mould find means of drawing 
you into the fame errors or crimes with themfelves; 
for " a companion of fools mall be deftroyed." If 
you are not fometimes in the company of your err- 
ing acquaintances, you cannot reprove or exhort 
them. But they muft not be your ordinary or cho- 
fen companions. The phyfician vifits the fick that 
he may heal them. He does not live or fleep with 
them, for then they might communicate to him their 
diftempers. 

Thofe are, of all others, moft likely to do good 
to their neighbours, who keep themfelves mofl un- 
fpotted from the world. Their life is a conftant 
teftimony againft the wicked. Peter exhorts Chri- 
ftians to have their con verfation honeft among the 
Gentiles, that whereas they fpoke againft them as 
evil doers, they might, by their good works which 
they fhould behold, glorify God in the day of vio- 
lation. The holy life of John had as much effecl: 

upoa 



400 ON THE MEANS TO &£- 'USED- FOR 

upon Herod, as the awful eloquence of his dif- 
courfes^ 

You mufl not however think, that if you are left 
by God to fall into a fin which brings difhonour on 
your name, you can be of no more ufe to your fel- 
low-men. If you do not give proper evidence o 
repentance, you cannot expedl that your admonitions 
or reproofs to other finners will have any other ef- 
fecl: than to bring your own fin to remembrance.. 
But if your repentance be as public, and as evident 
as your offence, you may deal with finners more ef- 
fectually than ever. This was David's hope, whea 
he was humbled before the Lord for his tranfgref- 
iion, that when God mould blefs him with renewed 
inflances of his loving kindnefs, he would teach 
tranfgrefTors God's ways, and finners ihould be turn- 
ed unto him. Paul had greatly finned in his uncon- 
verted flate, and was on every occafion ready to 
confefs the enormity of his fins, and was enabled* 
from his own experience, to tell finners what an evil 
and dangerous thing it was to be an enemy to the 
crofs of Chrift. 

2. Defpair not of doing good to obftinate finners.. 
The fervarits of Ghrift know by experience, that 
there is an amazing power in thofe corrupt lulls 
which naturally reign in the hearts of men, and that 
divine grace can do wondrous things in recovering 
men from Jthe fnares of the devil. There were 
many Jews that continued obftinate unbelievers du- 
ring the whole courfe of our Lord's miniftry, al- 
though he fpake as never man had fpoken, and yet 
were converted by the miniftry of the apoftles. 
Chr ill's people fhall be willing in the day of his 

power,. 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 401 

power, and they will never be willing till the day 
of his power is come. The hulbandman waits pa- 
tiently for the precious fruits of the earth, and does 
not intermit his labour in the feafon of drought or 
of temped. At laft he hopes to reap, and we alfo 
fhall reap the fruit of our labours if we faint net. 
If thofe fouls mould finally perifti, for whom w T e 
have wept, and laboured, and prayed, our charity 
will not be loft. 

3. Let your charity and zeal be regulated by the 
word of God. 

It is to be lamented that many perfons, not ene- 
mies to religion, mould pay little regard in their 
practice to fome of its rules. Charity is the foul of 
practical religion, and charity believeth -all things, 
hopeth all things, endureth all things. How then 
comes it to pafs, that many ferious perfons are fo 
ready to form bad opinions of their neighbours ? 
They hear a bad ftory, and they believe it without 
farther inquiry, although they might know that half 
of the bad ftories they hear are downright falfe- 
hoods, and that nine out of ten are mifreprefenta- 
tions. And how comes it to pafs, that fome who 
are zealous again ft fin, turn their zeal itfelf into fin, 
by judging their brethren, who muft ftand or fall 
not to their fellow -fervants, but to their own Ma- 
iler ? 

Your neighbour is guilty of a fault. What then? 
Is he a hypocrite becaufe he is not unblemifhed ? 
Was the apcftle Peter a falfe Chriftian, becaufe on 
a certain occanon at Antioch he walked not upright- 
3y, f?ccordi;:g to the truth of the gofpel ?■ 

Job's three frieads confidered him as a bad man, 
LI 3 and 



402 Off THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

and earneftly laboured for his converfion. They 
were wife and good men. They were hone ft in an 
eminent degree, and could bear to wound their own 
tendereft feelings, by fpeaking daggers to the heart 
of Job for his good. Yet they were greatly to be 
blamed, becaufe they wanted that charity which 
xvill not form a bad opinion of one's neighbour with- 
out fufficient evidence. Their reproofs and advices 
would have been excellent, if they had been addref- 
fed to fuch a man as they took job to be ; but, ad- 
drefled to the man that Job was, they were poifon in- 
fufed into his wound, whiltt they thought that they 
were difcovering their ardent ' zeal for God, and 
their honefl friend£bip to Job. They fpake not of 
God the thing that was right, and they brake the 
good man in pieces with their words. 

But whatever we may fay with juttice againft the 
errors of thefe good men, they merit praife if you 
compare them with thofe cold-hearted friends, who 
would not wound the too delicate feelings of thofe 
whom they pretend to love, although it might fave 
their fouls from hell. Does that man love his; 
child, who would not force a knife out of his hands 
left he mould foh and cry, although he knows not 
how foon he may ufe it to give himfelf a deadly 
wound ? Charity fuffers long, and is kind ; yet it 
will not fufFer fin in the beloved object. So God 
teaches us by Mofes when he fays, " Thou malt 
not hate thy brother in thine heart ^ thou fhalt in 
any wife rebuke thy neighbour, and not fufFer fin 
upon him," Lev. xix. 

Charity belie veth all things, yet it rejoiceth in 

the 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 403 

the truth, and will not believe manifeft falfehoods, 
nor refufe its alTent to unpleafant truths when they 
are too plain to be denied. You have very falfe 
notions of charity, when you think that it conftrains 
you to think well, or to fpeak well of tranfgreflbrs, 
whofe fins are open before hand going to judgment. 
If you endeavour to palliate every tranfgreflion of 
which you hear, and to warn Ethiopians white, yotf 
employ your tongues to poifon the morals of your 
hearers. You muft not fpeak evil of your neigh- 
bours ; but you muft neither juftify nor excufe thofe 
that are known to be evil doers, as if their crimes 
were only faults, and their perfeverance in an evil 
courfe confiftent with the character of a Chriftian. 
Is a man known to be a tipler, a reviler, or a liar ? 
talk not of his fpots as if they could be the fpots of 
God's children, for then you may embolden other 
men to lie, and drink to excefs, and defame their 
brethren, by the notion you infill, that they may da 
all thofe things, and yet deferve the character of 
faints. 

It is not charity, but cruelty, to hide your eyes 
from thofe faults that are but too evident. Was 
there a more charitable man than Paul, who, in his 
epiftles, adminiftered fharp reproofs to his beloved 
children, when their conduct was blameable ? Jefus 
himfelf, whofe love pafleth knowledge, difplayed it 
no lefs in the reproofs than in the comforts which he 
often gave to his difciples. 

When we have no certain evidence that our friends 
or neighbours are deftitute of the grace of God, cha- 
rity will not only permit, but difpofe us to be jea- 
lous 



404 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR 

lous over them with a godly jealoufy. " I defire 
to be prefent with you now, and to change my 
voice," faid Paul to the Galatians, " for I Hand in 
doubt of you." Was he unkind to them, becaufe 
he flood in doubt of them ? Was he their enemy, 
becaufe he told them the truth ? No, he was their 
true friend. He was their affectionate father. They 
were his little children, with whom he travailed in 
birth again, till Chrift was formed in them. 

Let all your things be done with charity, There are 
no duties which ought to have the character of ch 
rity more plainly imprinted upon them, than thofe 
which may prove painful to the perfons vvhofe be- 
nefit we feek in doing them.; and we ought to be 
careful that our charity be regulated by the exam- 
ple of Chrift and his holy apoftles. 

4. Beware of thofe weakneffes which may ob- 
Jtruct the fuccefs of your labours of love. 

Spiritual pride is not to be ranked with thofe 
weakneffes which make our good to be evil fpoken 
of. It is wickedne'fs of the worft kind. But there 
are appearances of it which ought to be avoided, if 
we value our character and ufefulnefs. You can- 
not but have obferved with what wonderful caution 
Paul fpeaks of his own attainments, when he was 
under a necemty of mentioning them. Some peo- 
ple might have imagined that he was one of the 
proudeft men alive, when he fpoke of his own fuf- 
ferings, and of his activity and fuccefs in the caufe 
of Chrift, if he had fpoken of them in fuch a way 
as too many fpeak of themfelves, when they think 
that felf-defence makes it jultifiable. Yet, in thefe 

very 




THE CONVERSION OF OITR NEIGHBOURS. 405 

very paflages where he raifes his own character to 
the higheft pitch of glory, every candid reader finds 
that he was the humbleft man in the world. 

A fupercilious and magifterial air in giving one's 
fentiments on religious fubjects, in admonifhing, or 
reproving, or exhorting, tends not only to prevent 
the efFecl: defigned, but to embitter the fpirit of thofe 
who feem to be infulted by fuch behaviour. Per- 
sons in ftations of authority may claim the privi- 
leges of it. But the authority that we claim to our- 
felves, from the high thoughts that, we entertain of 
our excellencies, or the refpecl: that we fuppofe to 
be entertained for us, is very frequently a caflle in 
the air. It will at leaft be difputed by thofe whom 
we humiliate by difplaying it. Even thofe who 
are veiled with indifputable authority, often find it 
ufeful to in treat, when they might command. Paul, 
in the exercife of his authority, fet always before 
his eyes the meeknefs and gentlenefs of Chrift. 

Beware of impertinent meddling with perfons^ 
over whom you can pretend to no controul or influ- 
ence. We have heard of a certain zealous Protef- 
tant, who, in a fit of zeal or of derangement, made 
a voyage to Rome that he might convert the Pope. 
J do not fufpecl that any of you will ever expofe 
yourfelves, or your profefHon, to ridicule by fuch ab- 
furdity of conduct. But there are meddlers, who ex- 
pofe themfelves to ridicule by attempts no lefs hope- 
lefs, to convert all their neighbours to their own 
way of thinking in religion. They are conftantly 
labouring to make profelytes to their own religious 
party, and thus railing up enemies to it, as if it were 

holtile 



4,06 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED FOR " 

hoftile to the peace, of every other. Such perfons 
are commonly thofe who are leaft fit to manage a 
caufe, but are very well qualified to bring it into 
difrepute. 

Keep within the bounds of your ftation. " My 
brethren," fays the apoftle James, "be not many 
mailers," or many teachers, * 4 left you mould receive 
the greater condemnation." You may be fufficiently 
qualified to do good by your private converfe, and 
yet totally unqualified to be public inftru&ors. Jf 
you think yourfelves qualified, it is ten to one but 
you are Tingle in your opinion ; or, if you are not, 
you ought to remember that there is a difference 
between qualifications and a call. 

Beware of an overheated or a blind zeal. " Tt is 
always good to be zealoufly affected in a good thing." 
But many zealots have brought zeal under difre- 
pute, by making it a pretence for impertinence, for 
evil furmiiings, for rafti judgments, for perfecution 
and bloodlhed. '* The wifdom that is from above is 
fird pure, then peaceable." True zeal is the fervour 
of charity under the guidance of knowledge and 
prudence. 

Make nothing worfe than it is. The Pharifees, 
pretending to be holier than Chrift, called him a 
wine-bibber, a glutton, a friend of publicans and 
iinners, becaufe he fometimes accepted an invitation 
to dine from bad men, whom he wifiied to convert 
by his difcourfes, and a fabbath-breaker, becaufe he 
did that good to men on the Sabbath-day, which they 
themfelves would not have fcrupled to do to a bead. 
If you make thofe things crimes which are not for- 
bidden. 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 401 

bidden by the law, you fpeak evil of the law, and 
judge the law ; and, as a liar will not be believed 
when he fpeaks the truth, fo thofe who make every 
thing a crime, will not be regarded when they juft- 
ly reprove real crimes. 

It is to be confeffed, that there is in our age 
great need to warn men agaihfl miflaking fins for 
innocent amufements, or matters of indifference. 
But if we would keep our feet from evil, we mull 
turn neither to the right hand nor to the left. There 
is danger in being righteous overmuch, although 
there is greater danger perhaps in being overmuch 
wicked. 

Such is our weaknefs, that we are ever ready in 
avoiding one evil to rum upon another, and to de- 
ceive ourfelves by falfe names given to our princi- 
ples of aclion. When we are called to be wife as 
ferpents, we are too ready to forget the harcnleffnefs 
of the dove. Chriftian prudence is an excellent en- 
dowment, but let us beware of putting in its place 
the wifdom of the world. We mull be afraid of 
doing any thing that may expofe our holy profeffion 
to derifion, but why mould we be afraid of expofmg 
ourfelves to fcorn for the honour of our profeffion .'? 
Jems wrought a miracle, that he might not offend 
thofe who fought occaiion of offence agaiuft him ; 
but he would not, at the infligat'on of the devil, 
change ftones into loaves to fat-isfy his own hunger, 
nor would he exert his divine power to preferve his 
face from fhame and fpitting, but fuffered every in- 
dignity with patience, that he might accomplilh our 
falvation. A due fenfe of the love of Chrift in 

fuffering 



408 ON THE MEANS TO BE U1ED FOR 

fuffering and dying for us, would make us willing; 
to die a thoufand deaths rather than bring dimonour 
upon our religion by imprudent conduct, or neglect 
an opportunity to gain a precious foul, to be to 
him for a name and for a praife Let us there- 
fore, 

5. Endeavour to live continually under the im« 
preffions of thofe awful or pleafant truths which 
will have the moft powerful influence upon us for 
difpofing us to feek firlt the kingdom of God and 
his righteoufnefs. 

Let us never forget that we came yefterday into 
the world, and mult leave it to- morrow ; that we 
brought nothing into the world, and can carry no- 
thing out of it, but our good or evil works. Should 
we colled mountains of gold, of what ufe will they 
be to us when God requires our fouls ? But mould 
we convert one {inner from the error of his ways, 
it will be to us for a joy and crown of rejoicing in 
the day of the Lord Jefus. 

One of the holy fathers faid, that thefe words 
ftill founded in his ears, *' Arife, ye dead, and come 
to judgment." The day of judgment will foon 
come. It will be probably a longer day than all 
the days and nights of our life put together. It 
will have eternal confequences of importance, ex- 
ceeding all our apprehenfions. u Knowing the ter- 
rors of the Lord, we perfuade men," fays Paul. 
Knowing thefe terrors, let us exhort one another to 
flee from the wrath to come, whilft flight is yet 
poffible. " Behold, now is the accepted time ; 
behold, now is the day of falvation." O that we 

could 



THE CONVERSION OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 4W 

cduld perfuade you, thou ghtlefs firmer, not to receive 
the grace of God in vain. 

Nothing ought to be a more frequent f ubj eel: of 
our delightful meditation, than the love of God in . 
Ghrift Jems. The love of Chrift conftrained Paul 
to exert fuch zeal in his labours for the falvation o£ 
men, that he was thought by many to be befide 
himfelf. But the falvation of one foul was infinite- 
ly more than a compenfation to him for all the re- 
proaches that he could endure. We love God be- 
caufe he firft loved us, and it is vain for lis to fay 
that we love God whom we have not feen, if we do 
not love our brethren whom we have feen ; and if 
we love them, we will not without the fincereft grief 
behold them walking in ways that lead to perdition. 
Beloved, if God fo loved us, will we not love one s 
another ? If he hath redeemed us from the loweft 
hell, nothing will give us greater delight than to 
pluck our fellow finners" out of the iire of divine 
wrath. If Chrift endured fuch anguifh, and bore 
the curfe of God for our deliverance, will any thing 
appear to us too grievous to be endured for the fake 
of precious fouls, who muft be happy or miferable 
for ever ? 

Finally, let us conftantly depend on Jefus Chrift 
for all needful fupplies of grace and wifdom. It is 
his grace that mud quicken us in his way, and ani> 
mate' us with zeal for the falvation of finners. We 
muft receive that wifdom from him that is absolute- 
ly necelTary for winning fouls. To every one of us 
is given grace, according to the meafure of the gift 
of Chrift, and he will not withhold that grace from 
them that trull in him which is necefiary for any of 
Mm the 



410 ON THE MEANS TO BE USED, &C. 

the v fervices which: lie requires. Bid he give Ms 
own blood for the falvatioa of fouls, and will he 
withhold his help from thofe whofe prevailing de- 
fire it is to promote that work in which he fo great- 
ly delights ? " It hath pleafed the Father, that in 
him mould all fulnefs dwell, that out of his fulnefe 
we may receive, and grace for grace." 




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THE 

T R A V E L L E R, 

OR 

One Hundred and Twenty-two Meditations on Va» 
rious Subjects, written on board a Man-of-war ; 

To which is added, 

CONVERSE WITH THE WORLD UNSEEN,, 

In Thirty-three Meditations, 

By James Meikle, late Surgeon at Carnwath$. 

To which is prefixed, 

A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR, 

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Price 4j. in Boards. 



Where alfo may be had y 

SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; ; 

ax 

One Hundred and- Forty-nine Miscellaneous Medi- 
tations on Several Religious Subjects, written in 
diftant parts of the World, 

By the late Mr James Meikle. 

%*. See Review in Evang, Magazine, April 1804; 

— ,< > 

THE 

S E LECT REM A IN S 

OF 

Mr JAMES MEIKLE, 

OR, 

Extra&s from Manufcripts found among his Papers % 

ENTITLED, 

I. The Monthly Memorial ; or, A Periodical Inter- 

view with the King of Terrors. 

II. A fecret Survey into the State of the Soul. 

III. The Houfe of Mourning - r or Poems on Me* 
lanckoly Subjects. 

3V. The Tomb.: 



-,.<o>. 



METAPHYSICAL MAXIMS-, 

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Thoughts on the Nature of the Soul, free Wilt, 
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